•;      ^ 


•t. 


HE     LIFE 


Rev.  William  GofF  Caples, 


MISSOURI  CONFERENCE 


Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 


o 

E?   M.   MARVIN. 


SAINT   LOUIS: 

SOUTHWESTERN    BOOK    AND    PUBLISHING   COMPANY, 

510  AND  512  WASHINGTON  AVENUE. 

1870. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by  the 
SOUTHWESTERN  BOOK  &  PUBLISHING  CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Missouri. 


PREFACE. 


I  must  have  my  little  prefatory  chat  with  the 
reader. 

The  writing  of  the  Life  of  Caples  was  not  under- 
tajien  upon  my  own  suggestion,  but  in  compliance 
with  the  request  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  made 
by  formal  resolution  at  the  session  of  1867,  at 
Macon  City. 

I  had  no  time  to  devote  to  it  until  after  my 
return  from  the  Pacific  coast  last  fall.  As  I  felt 
unable  for  hard  service  in  the  pulpit  at  the  time, 
I  proposed  to  devote  the  winter  to  the  preparation 
of  this  Biography,  preaching  only  on  Sundays  near 
home.  But  before  the  work  was  more  than  fairly 
begun  I  was  drawn  into  a  series  of  revival  meet- 
ings that  kept  me  from  home  nearly  all  the  while. 
Away  from  home  inevitable  engrossments  of  time 
prevented  all  writing,  and  at  home  a  heavy  corres- 
pondence, with  oilier  claims  upon  me,  demanded 
attention.  The  greater  part  of  this  book  has, 
therefore,  been  written  by  snatches,  as  a  few  hours 
could  be  commanded  now  and  then.  I  feel  per- 


IV  PREFACE. 

suaded  that,  as  a  literary  production,  I  could 
improve  it  greatly,  if  I  had  leisure. 

Perhaps  the  friends  of  Brother  Caples  will  be 
disappointed  to  find  so  little  of  narrative  in  the 
book.  But  I  had  not  the  facts,  nor  could  I  procure 
them,  unless  I  had  taken  time  to  go  and  see  hun- 
dreds of  people,  and  interest  them  in  conversation 
about  him  until  their  memories  might  have  yielded 
me  their  store  of  hid  treasures.  In  response  to 
letters,  with  but  two  or  three  exceptions,  I  got  only 
generalities.  It  seemed  impossible  to  get  inci- 
dents, to  any  great  extent,  by  correspondence,  and 
I  gave  it  up  at  last  in  'despair.  I  had  to  depend 
largely  on  my  own  memory,  which,  when  I  put  it 
to  the  test,  served  me  better  than  I  expected.  I 
found  that  I  could  recall  the  substance  of  many 
conversations  I  had  had  with  him  much  more 
fully  than  I  supposed. 

That  there  may  be  inaccuracies  in  the  book,  I 
can  not  doubt,  but  I  have  taken  every  pains  to 
get  the  exact  truth,  and  trust  that  I  have  generally 
succeeded.  Of  the  general  accuracy  of  it  I  feel 
fully  assured. 

The  plan  of  the  work  is  somewhat  peculiar.  I 
had  not  the  material  to  make  a  book  of  much  size 
as  a  mere  biography,  and  so  determined  to  make 
the  narrative  the  vehicle  of  other  matter,  which 
seemed  to  me  of  great  importance.  This  matter 
is  pertinent,  and  always  suggested  by  the  facts. 


PREFACE.  V 

My  object  has  "been  to  make  this  biography  a 
means  of  doing  good,  and  not  simply  a  memorial 
of  one  so  highly  honored  amongst  us. 

If,  in  some  parts  of  the  book,  the  style  should 
appear  too  familiar  or  offensively  egotistical,  I 
have  but  one  apology  to  make :  It  was  written 
with  the  consciousness  of  a  Missourian  talking  to 
Missourians  about  Caples.  Was  it  possible  that, 
with  this  feeling,  the  author  should  avoid  the  free 
use  of  the  personal  pronoun  ?  I  am  sure  the  im- 
mediate friends  of  my  honored  brother  will  accept 
this  feature  of  the  work  with  generous  allowance, 
at  least. 

It  has  been  written  with  prayer  and  an  earnest 
desire  to  glorify  God.  If  it  shall  lead  any  soul 
to  Christ,  encourage  any  young  minister  or  console 
any  of  the  older  ones ;  if  it  shall  contribute  to 
more  wholesome  views  of  truth  and  obligation  in 
the  Church,  or  bring  any  to  a  more  perfect  conse- 
cration, the  labor  of  preparing  it,  which  has  been 
considerable,  will  find  ample  reward. 

E.  M.  MARVIN. 

Si.  Louis,  April  28,  1870. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.                                     PAGE. 
Birth,  and  the  New  Birth 7 

CHAPTER    II. 
Apprentice  Work  in  the  Gospel 20 

CHAPTER   III. 
Called  of  God  to  Preach  the  Gospel, 32 

CHAPTER  IV. 
How  He  was  Educated  for  the  Ministry 41 

CHAPTER  V. 
Cast  Down  but  not  Destroyed 59 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Preacher 78 

CHAPTER  VII. 
The  Pastor 114 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Presiding  Elder 138 

CHAPTER   IX. 
In  Conference 163 

CHAPTER  X. 
Peculiar  Views 189 

CHAPTER   XI. 
Denominational  Education » 220 

CHAPTER   XII. 
The  War 253 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
The  Man,  Caples 285 

CHAPTER   XIV. 
Face  to  Face  with  Death 328 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Last  Days , 353 

CHAPTER   XVI. 

"Thy  Dead  Men  shall  Live" 377 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Law  of  the  Tithe — Two  Lectures 396 

Lecture  1 400 

Lecture  II 417 


CHAPTER  I. 


BIETH,    AND   THE   NEW   BIETH. 

WILLIAM  GOFF  CAPLES,  son  of  K.  F.  and  Char- 
lotte Caples,  was  "born  April  23, 1819,  in  Jerome- 
ville,  Wayne  county,  Ohio. 

Of  his  parents  and  his  early  life  I  know  nothing 
beyond  the  fact  that  his  educational  advantages 
were  limited,  and  that  he  was  converted  and  joined 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  his  seventeenth 
year.  It  is,  therefore,  to  be  inferred  that  he  had 
enjoyed  Christian  training,  and  I  should  judge 
that  his  parents  were  of  the  better  class  of  that 
adventurous  multitude  that  have  been  ever  push- 
ing into  the  West.  But  whether  his  father  was 
farmer,  merchant,  mechanic  or  professional:  man 
I  know  not.  Nor  do  I  care  to  know.  I  feel  quite 
certain  that  good  ancestral  influences  were  upon 


8  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

the  man.  He  was  possessed  of  that  sort  of  deep, 
unassailable  principle  that  is  apt  to  be  hereditary. 
Whether  it  be  in  the  blood  or  in  a  species  of  tra- 
ditional family  honor,  I  shall  not  undertake  to 
say,  but  my  observation  is  that  where  there  is 
very  high  moral  tone  it  may  be  traced  to  an 
honorable  line  of  ancestry.  There  are  exceptions, 
no  doubt,  but  this  is  the  rule. 

There  are  two  vital  facts  in  human  life,  and 
individual  character  is  the  result  of  their  com- 
bined action.  The  first  is  personal  liberty,  and 
the  second  reciprocal  influence.  Character  comes 
of  the  action  and  reaction  of  the  individual  will 
upon  all  the  multiform  moral  influences  that  come 
upon  the  man. 

All  observation  compels  us  to  admit  that  much 
depends  on  early  influences.  It  is  a  rare  thing 
that  the  character  of  a  man  is  the  reverse  of  the 
character  of  the  external  agencies  brought  to  bear 
upon  him  in  the  formative  period.  So  fully  is 
this  true  that  the  declaration  comes  with  divine 
authority,  "  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should 
go  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it." 
This  is  literally  true.  It  is  the  declaration  of  God. 
Yet  many  who  accept  the  Bible  as  the  book  of 
God  either  disbelieve  the  affirmation  or  explain 
it  until  the  meaning  is  all  gone. 

True,  many  children  of  Christian  parents  turn 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  9 

out  wicked.  But  who  can  affirm  that  they  were 
trained  up  in  the  way  they  should  go  ? 

Training  means  much  more  than  mere  instruc- 
tion. Even  this  part  of  it  is  sadly  neglected  by 
many  parents  who  are  in  the  Church.  But  even 
where  there  is  thorough  instruction  in  the  things 
of  God,  still  the  training  may  be  very  imperfect, 
or  positively  bad.  Let  it  be  remembered  that 
training  goes  on  as  actively  (often  more  so)  in  the 
street  as  by  the  fireside.  It  is  imperative  on 
parents  to  secure  their  children,  as  far  as  possible, 
against  such  associations  as  will  lead  to  an  evil 
life.  Let  their  surroundings,  as  far  as  may  be, 
tend  to  salvation.  After  the  utmost  care  and 
vigilance  the  precious  soul  of  the  child  will  be 
sufficiently  exposed.  The ;  carelessness  that  lets 
them  run  at  large,  the  parent  knows  not  where, 
and  the  weakness  or  'pride  that  sends  them  to  the 
mouth  of  the  pit  that  they  may  enjoy  themselves, 
or  that  they  may  establish  a  footing  in  "  fashion- 
able society,"  betrays  either  a  thoughtlessness  or 
a  degree  of  carnality  on  the  part  of  the  parent 
that  quite  unfits  him  for  his  great  responsibilities. 
It  is  safe  to  affirm  that  where  the  children  of  reli- 
gious parents  turn  out  irreligious — permanently 
so — they  have  not  been  trained  "  in  the  nurture 
and  admonition  of  the  Lord." 

A  child  baptized  in  infancy  and  properly  trained 
is  almost  sure  to  desire  a  place  among  the  people 


10  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

of  God  when  it  is  from  eight  to  twelve  years  old. 
After  that  there  will  be  many  temptations,  much 
backsliding  of  heart,  in  many  cases,  and  much 
mere  formality;  but  with  the  due  exercise  of 
parental  influence  and  authority  mingled,  aided 
by  proper  pastoral  fidelity,  in  a  living  Church, 
with  the  stated  means  of  grace  regularly  enjoyed, 
and  the  revival  seasons — those  "seasons  of  re- 
freshing from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  "  that  are 
sure  to  come  in  every  vital  Church — the  child  is 
certain  to  come,  sooner  or  later,  to  a  sound  experi- 
ence of  grace,  and  a  stable,  consistent,  Christian 
character. 

Even  as  it  is,  with  the  very  imperfect  training 
realized  amongst  us,  it  is  the  children  of  religious 
people  that  constitute  the  staple  of  the  Church. 
Christian  families  are  the  salt  of  the  earth. 

An  important  factor  in  the  problem  of  charac- 
ter as  it  results  from  training,  is  the  actual  char- 
acter of  the  parent.  A  man's  influence  proceeds 
out  of  himself,  and  is,  in  the  long  run,  just  the 
out-going  of  his  inner  life.  He  may  greatly 
desire  to  exert  on  his  children  an  influence  above 
his  own  standard.  He  gives  the  best:  possible 
advice,  and  now  and  then  goads  himself  up  to  a 
measure  of  piety  on  their  account  that  is  not 
habitual  with  him.  The  motive  is  a  good  one; 
the  only  trouble  is  that  he  falls  back  again  to  the 
old  level  of  nominal  religion,  and  the  force  of  his 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  11 

influence  comes  from  his  whole  life,  and  not  from 
the  better  and  exceptional  part  of  it.  I  have  no 
doulbt  that  there  is  a  great  deal  of  true  piety  in 
the  Church,  and  in  proportion  to  this  our  religion 
will  reproduce  itself  in  our  children. 

The  great  work  of  Mr.  Wesley  was  to  bring 
personal  religion  in  experience  and  practice  up  to 
the  scriptural  standard.  The  experience  of  the 
love  of  God,  felt  and  known,  the  new  birth  taught 
so  distinctly  and  with  such  emphasis  by  our  Lord 
and  by  all  the  apostles,  was  the  key  note  of  the 
Methodist  movement.  No  less  vital  was  the  aver- 
ment, that  where  this  is  found  in  truth  it  will  be 
seen  *in  the  fruit  of  it — that  is,  in  holy  living. 
This  heavenly  birth  realized  in  the  soul  and 
bodied  forth  in  a  life  of  habitual  devotion  to  God, 
with  proper  instruction  and  training  of  children, 
and  the  prayer  of  faith  earnestly,  constantly 
offered  to  God  in  their  behalf,  will  reappear  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  in  this  manner, 
chiefly,  will  heaven  become  populous  with  re- 
deemed spirits  from  the  earth. 

From  what  I  know  of  the  man,  Caples,  I  doubt 
not  that  the  boy  was  very  wide  awake  and  full  of 
fun.  If  I  might  venture  to  make  a  little  history, 
after  the  manner  of  the  rationalists,  I  should  say 
that  this  boy  was  a  recognized  chief  among  the 
youth  of  his  neighborhood.  Both  from  intellect- 
ual superiority  and  force  of  will  he  was  a  leader, 


12  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

even  amongst  boys  older  than  himself.  Then  there 
was  such  boldness  and  activity,  so  much  dash  and 
enterprise,  and  withal  such  an  unceasing  flow  of 
wit,  combined  with  the  most  genial  humor,  that 
he  would  inevitably  attract  every  thing  to  him- 
self. 

An  inborn  hatred  of  everything  little  and  mean, 
and  a  sense  of  justice  that  was  little  less  than  a 
passion,  often  no  doubt  called  him  to  a  noble 
championship  in  instances  of  insolent  tyranny 
such  as  are  constantly  recurring  amongst  boys, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  impulses  of  a  master 
spirit  probably  made  him  overbearing  himself, 
at  times.  But  the  genuine  nobility  of  his  .spirit 
would  always  appear  in  the  end. 

The  casual  observer  would  see  in  him  only  a 
very  bright  and  a  very  irrepressible  boy,  running 
over  with  vitality  and  fun.  But  his  mother  would 
discover  something  much  deeper.  She  would  see 
the  young  spirit  opening  itself  to  everything  di- 
vine in  nature  and  in  the  Bible.  I  can  not  doubt 
that  the  awe  of  God  was  often  upon  the  child, 
that  the  voice  of  a  conscience  wonderfully  author- 
itative made  itself  articulate  in  his  soul,  and  that 
the  check  of  these  often  brought  him  to  pause  in 
the  midst  of  wayward  adventures,  when  none  but 
himself  was  aware  of  it.  As  he  grew  into  youth 
there  was  an  ever-deepening  sense  of  God. 

I  know  not  what  the  fact  was,  but  can  scarcely 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  13 

/ 

doubt  that  it  was  in  a  revival  that  he  was  con  ' 
verted  and  joined  the  Church.  He  lived  in  a  com- 
paratively new  country.  It  was  not  at  a  camp- 
meeting  that  he  was  brought  into  the  fold,  for  it 
was  in  the  winter.  Perhaps  it  was  in  a  rude 
schoolhouse.  Many  of  the  princes  of  Israel  in 
the  West  have  been  born  into  the  Kingdom  where 
all  was  in  a  very  crude  state.  But  it  matters  not 
whether  amid  the  grandeurs  of  some  costly  Gothic 
structure,  or  the  still  more  imposing  grandeurs  of 
"  God's  first  temples,"  a  soul  first  comes  to  the 
knowledge  of  its  Creator.  The  supreme  fact  of 
our  life  is  independent  of  all  that  is  accidental. 
He  that  is  once  an  actual  partaker  of  the  divine 
nature  will  feel  it  to  be-  a  matter  of  no  conse- 
quence whether  the  consummation  was  reached  at 
a  camp-meeting  or  in  a  cathedral.  Every  thing 
else  becomes  insignificant  in  the  presence  of  the 
love  of  God.  All  other  beauty  is  lost  in  the 
beauty  of  Him  who  is  "  chief est  among  ten  thou- 
sand and  altogether  lovely."  All  else  is  nothing 
compared  with  "  Christ  crucified."  Worldly  ad- 
juncts are  forgotten  in  the  "knowledge  of  sins 
forgiven." 

The  experience  of  our  departed  brother  was 
clear  and  positive.  I  think  he  never  doubted  his 
conversion.  Always  after  I  knew  him  he  was  at 
rest  on  that  point.  There  was  nothing  equivocal 
either  in  his  views  of  the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth 


14  LIFEOFCAPLrfS. 

or  in  his  experience  of  the  fact.    It  was  a  great 
reality  to  him. 

"  Wlmt  we  have  felt  and  seen 
With  confidence  we  tell." 

He  was  never  concerned  to  bring  within  the 
terms  of  a  vain  philosophy  this  chief  of  all  the 
affirmations  of  revelation  and  of  the  experience 
of  the  people  of  God.  With  him  it  stood  on  its 
own  everlasting  foundations — the  testimony  of 
God  and  the  responsive  testimony  of  the  saints 
of  all  ages.  His  own  experience  was  a  divine 
preparation  for  the  work  God  had  for  him  to  do 
in  the  world.  It  was  so  full,  so  distinctly  and 
deeply  a  fact  of  consciousness  with  him  that 
"the  trumpet  never  gav.e  an  uncertain  sound." 
He  delivered  the  fact  of  the  spiritual  birth  not 
only  out  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  "opening  and 
alleging  "  that  it  is  so,  but  also  out  of  the  depths 
of  his  own  soul. 

This  great  epoch  in  his  life  dates  from  Decem- 
ber, 1835.  Thenceforward  he  was  a  "  new  creature 
in  Christ  Jesus."  "  Old  things  passed  away,  all 
things  became  new."  Not  that  the  essential 
personal  traits  that  constituted  his  identity  and 
differenced  him  from  other  men  were  destroyed ; 
but  the  spiritual  nature  was  raised  to  a  new  life, 
which  was  thenceforth  to  give  complexion  to  the 
whole  man.  The  views  and  hopes  of  his  life  now 
sprang  from  this  new  fountain.  Th«  uueonquer- 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  15 

able  energies  of  his  soul  came  under  control  of 
motives  thence  arising.  His  whole  being  adjusted 
itself  to  God,  to  his  law,  to  Christ  and  eternity. 
That  wonderful  emotional  nature  of  his,  which 
was,  for  volume,  like  the  tides  of  the  ocean,  swelled 
and  subsided  under  the  attraction  of  the  Son  of 
God. 

"  The  Spirit  itself  bore  witness  with  his  spirit 
that  he  was  a  child  of  God."  I  have  heard  him 
dilate  upon  that  passage  in  private  conversation 
until  I  would 

"  Taste  unutterable  bliss 
And  everlasting  rest." 

None  but  a  man  who  had  felt  its  truth  could 
talk  about  it  as  he  did.  Once  when  we  were  alone 
together  he  dwelt  upon  it  until,  when  he  passed 
to  the  latter  clause  of  the  text,  "  if  children  then 
heirs  —  heirs  OF  GOD  and  JOINT  HEIRS  WITH 
CHRIST,"  his  very  recitation  of  the  language 
opened  its  unfathomable  depths  to  me.  His  own 
experience  taught  him  the  import  of  all  the  rich- 
est passages  of  the  Word  of  God. 

His  conversion  determined  the  course  of  his 
after  life.  He  had  other  views,  indeed,  ambitious 
views,  which  sprang  out  pf  conscious  intellectual 
power,  and  prompted  him  strongly  to  a  career  in 
which  he  might  win  fame  and  gold.  He  studied 
law,  and  had  an  intuitive  foresight  of  the  illus- 
trious career  that  his  peculiar  mental  endowments 


16  LIFEOFOAPLES. 

would  liave  secured  him  in  that  profession.  He 
had  none  of  that  contemptible  sort  of  vanity 
which  makes  small  men  ridiculous,  but  he  did 
have  that  quiet  consciousness  of  power  which  is 
the  prophesy  of  success  in  minds  of  the  highest 
order.  But  "  the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  "  was  in 
him,  and  an  awakened  and  dominant  conscience 
curbe^  what  would  otherwise  have  been  an  in- 
domitable ambition.  It  opened  his  ear  to  another 
voice — a  voice  felt  to  be  from  God — a  voice  articu- 
late within,  summoning  him  to  the  ministry  of  the 
word.  It  offered  no  emoluments  and  no  gold. 
He  knew  that  it  involved  much  toil  and  poverty. 
There  was  no  charm  in  it  then  for  a  carnal  heart, 
for  Methodist  preachers  in  those  days  saw  no  well 
furnished  parsonages  nor  "  fat  salaries "  in  the 
perspective  of  the  future.  For  such  a  man  as 
Caples  it  was  a  sacrifice,  and  a  great  one ;  such  a 
sacrifice  as  a  man  may  bear  for  himself  very  well, 
but  to  involve  his  wife  and  children  in  it  touches 
to  the  quick. 

I  get  hints  of  a  period  of  conflict.  There  was 
a  time  when  temptation  was  strong,  and  when  the 
flesh  warred  against  the  spirit  with  such1  force 
that  the  issue  was  doubtful.  He  was  in  poise 
between  contending  motives.  There  was  agony 
in  the  struggle.  But,  as  we  shall  see,  in  the  end 
the  spirit  triumphed.  He  "  was  not  disobedient 
to  the  heavenly  vision."  The  spiritual  momentum 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  17 

already  received  became  the  determining  force  of 
his  life. 

A  man  is  not,  therefore,  yet  perfect  when  he  is 
born  of  God.  He  will  soon  find  himself  in  the 
mid?t  of  a  great  warfare,  the  flesh  lusting  against 
the  spirit.  Like  his  Lord,  he  will  find  that,  in  his 
measure,  he  must  be  made  perfect  through  suffer- 
ing. The  cross  is  to  be  borne.  The  flesh  is  to  be 
mortified.  Doubtless,  some  attain  to  a  full  con- 
secration much  sooner  and  with  less  pain  than 
others,  for  "  faith  the  conquest  more  than  gains." 
And  those  of  us  who  linger  in  a  protracted  strug- 
gle triumph  at  last  only  through  Christ — only  by 
faith.  And  how  self-abased  we  must  be  that, 
with  the  victory  always  in  our  grasp,  through 
Christ,  we  have  maintained  an  impotent  warfare 
in  our  own  strength  so  long. 

I  have  not  the  data  from  which  to  give  an 
account  in  detail  of  the  agonism  through  which 
Brother  Caples  passed.  I  only  know  that  he 
struggled  and  that  he  triumphed. 

Since  this  chapter  was  written  I  have  received 
the  following  in  a  letter  from  John  F.  Caples, 
Esq.,  a  lawyer  of  high  standing  at  Portland, 
Oregon,  and  a  brother  of  Rev.  TV".  G.  Caples.  It 
contains  some  information  I  did  not  before  pos- 
sess, and  confirms  other  facts  already  given. 
I  feel  quite  sure,  however,  that  Brother  Caples 

came  to  Missouri  an  exhorter  only,  and  received 
2 


18  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

license  to  preach  soon  after  he  arrived.  The 
letter  of  Rev.  B.  R.  Baxter,  in  another  chapter, 
confirms  the  information  I  had  before,  and  which 
I  had  always  understood  to  be  the  fact.  This  is 
not  a  material  point,  however,  and  the  letter  from 
Portland  will  be  read  with  interest.  To  me  it  was 
of  great  interest  in  giving  an  insight  into  the 
home  influences  under  which  the  character  of 
Mr.  Caples  was  formed.  The  father  an<J  mother 
were  the  manner  of  people  I  had  supposed  them 
to  be: 

"PORTLAND,  OREGON,  December  10,  JS69. 

"Brother  William  was  born  at  Jeromeville, 
Wayne  county,  Ohio,  April  23, 1819 ;  was  the  son 
of  Robert  F.  and  Charlotte  Caples;  emigrated, 
with  his  parents,  to  Seneca  county,  Ohio,  in  1831 ; 
experienced  religion  and  joined  the  Church  in 
1835.  I  presume  you  do  not  wish  to  go  back 
very  far  as  to  parentage.  His  father,  in  his  early 
life,  had  studied  and  been  admitted  to  practice 
law ;  served  as  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  Court 
in  Wayne  county,  Ohio,  for  four  years,  but  de- 
voted the  balance  of  his  life  to  farming. 

"William,  as  a  boy,  was  of  studious  habits, 
but  his  literary  opportunities  (outside  of  his 
father's  early  instruction)  were  only  those  of  a 
common  school  in  a  new  country.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  labor  upon  a  farm  until  about  eighteen 
years  of  age,  when  he  engaged  as  a  clerk  in  a 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  19 

store  at  Findlay,  Ohio,  and  was  most  of  the  time 
thereafter  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  until 
he  left  Ohio  for  Missouri,  which,  we  believe,  was 
in  the  spring  of  1839.  He  studied  law  at  Findlay 
during  the  years  1836  and  1837,  but  never  prac- 
ticed the  profession  that  we  know  of. 

"  His  parents  were  religious  from  early  youth, 
members  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  their  house  in 
Seneca  county  was  for  many  years  a  home  for 
Methodist  preachers,  and  served  as  a  preaching 
place,  class  rooms,  and  other  religious  services  of 
the  Church. 

"  For  some  years  before  leaving  Ohio  "William 
served  the  Church  as  an  exhorter  and  local 
preacher.  In  his  younger  days  he  was  distin- 
guished for  his  energy,  cheerful  and  hopeful  dis- 
position, and  extreme  kindness  of  heart." 


20  LIFEOFCAPLES 


CHAPTER  II. 


APPRENTICE   WORK   IN  THE   GOSPEL. 

Young  Caples  was  appointed  Class  Leader 
within  a  year  after  his  conversion.  My  data, 
simply  says  this  appointment  was  made  in  1836. 
At  what  time  in  the  year  this  occurred  I  have  no 
means  of  knowing;  but  as  his  conversion  took 
place  at  the  very  close  of  the  preceding  year  it  is 
likely  that  very  soon  after  the  close  of  his  proba- 
tionary term,  possibly  even  before  the  close  of  it 
(for  such  a  thing  would  not  be  without  precedent), 
he  became  the  Leader  of  a  class.  He  was  not 
only  young  in  religion,  but  also  young  in  years, 
for  in  April  of  this  year  he  attained  his  seven- 
teenth year. 

Not  only  must  his  religious  life  have  been  very 
decided,  but,  for  one  so  young,  his  personal  char- 
acter for  intelligence  and  stability  of  purpose 
must  have  commanded  great  respect,  or  he  would 
not  have  been  placed  in  so  responsible  a  relation 
to  the  Church.  One  can  imagine  how  warmly  the 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  21 

sympathies  of  the  Church  clustered  about  the 
young  disciple,  so  sprightly  was  he,  so  intelligent, 
and  so  fully  trusted.  'No  doubt  the  simple-hearted 
members  already  predicted  that  he  would  be  a 
preacher,  and  felt  all  that  generous  interest  in  him 
so  near  akin  to  family  pride,  which  constituted 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  traits  of  the  old-time 
Methodist  piety.  And  I  am  thankful  to  believe 
that  this  trait  is  not  obsolete  now.  Every  truly 
pious  heart  must  feel  a  devout  interest  in  a  young 
man  who  is  "  called  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel." 
In  the  eye  of  faith  there  is  in  him  somewhat  that 
is  not  in  other  young  men  of  the  Church.  He 
seems  nearer  to  Christ,  and  in  one  sense  actually 
is  so.  He  is  a  chosen  vessel,  to  whom  God  has 
committed  a  dispensation  of  the  gospel.  The 
freshness  and  ardor  of  his  young  manhood  have 
the  air  of  consecration  upon  them.  If  he  be  more 
deeply  pious  than  is  common  with  those  of  his 
age,  there  is  a  recognized  spirituality  and  self- 
abnegation  in  him  the  odor  of  which  is  a  "  sweet 
smelling  sacrifice. "  No  genuine  Christian  can 
fail  to  be  touched  by  all  this.  Accordingly,  there 
has  ever  been  in  the  Church  a  rich  sentiment  of 
prayerful  regard  toward  the  youth  who  are  looked 
upon  as  being  destined,  by  the  call  of  God,  to  the 
ministry.  In  the  local  Church  where  he  resides, 
and  where  he  was  converted — the  Church  that  was 
in  travail  when  he  was  born — the  Church  that  was 


22  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

in  sympathy  with  his  penitential  anguish,  and 
heard  his  first  shout  of  praise,  and  thrilled  under 
the  sunburst  of  immortal  joy  when  it  blazed  out 
of  the  thick  darkness,  changing,  it  may  be,  in  one 
moment,  his  midnight  into  day — there  is  a  sort 
of  proprietary  interest  in  him.  Much  note  is  taken 
of  every  hopeful  fact,  and  many  a  sage  prediction 
of  the  coming  greatness  of  the  young  worker  for 
God  is  delivered. 

But  while  this  is  always  so,  it  was  eminently 
the  case  among  the  Methodists  of  forty  years 
ago  and  less.  At  that  period,  when  there  was  so 
much  energy  in  the  administration  of  the  itine- 
rant plan,  a  heroic  character  invested  the  preach- 
ers, in  addition  to  the  sacred  interest  always  felt 
in  their  office.  A  young  man  caught  up  by  this 
whirlwind  might  be  let  down  almost  anywhere. 
Wherever  he  might  be  he  would  have  a  circuit 
large  enough  for  a  principality,  with  all  the  inci- 
dents of  bridgeless  streams  and  pathless  forests 
and  consuming  labors.  There  was  a  sort  of  rail- 
road activity  in  the  itinerancy,  while  all  else  was 
in  the  heavy  jog  of  the  sober  old  time.  Friends 
and  neighbors,  therefore,  followed  the  young 
Evangelist  with  a  romantic  interest  as  he  disap- 
peared in  impossible  distances,  with  no  railroad, 
nor  telegraph  wire,  nor  scarcely  an  old-fashioned 
stage  line  to  disenchant  the  scene.  lie  was  out 
swimming  rivers  on  horseback,  wandering  of  tern- 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  23 

pestuous  nights  in  morasses,  with  the  howl  of  the 
wolf  and  the  scream  of  the  panther  making 
chorus  in  the  song  of  the  wind  and  thunder, 
attacked  by  robbers  or,  "  mayhap "  (as  Hugh 
Miller  would  say),  by  savage  Indians.  All  this 
on  an  errand  of  love,  with  nothing  that  could 
be  called  pay  as  the  world  goes,  moved  by  the 
self  same  motive  that  brought  the  Master  down 
from  heaven  to  suffer  and  to  die.  He  was  out  on 
the  Master's  business — to  seek  and  to  save  the 
lost.  This  gave  the  early  preachers  a  command- 
ing place  in  the  affections  of  the  Church. 

The  tie  was  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the 
preachers  lived  among  the  people  of  the  Church. 
No  preacher  on  a  circuit  thought  of  boarding 
anywhere.  He  had  no  time  to  board.  He  was 
never  in  the  same  neighborhood  more  than  a  day 
or  two  in  three  or  four,  or  maybe  six,  weeks.  He 
lived  with  his  people.  Many  of  the  preachers 
were  unmarried,  and  if  one  had  a  family  he  was 
at  home  but  little.  They  were  almost  always  on 
the  hospitality  of  the  brethren,  and  the  brethren 
loved  to  have  it  so.  It  was  a  bright  day  when  the 
preacher  came,  especially  if  he  came  to  stay  all 
night.  The  children  looked  on  him  almost  as  an 
angel  of  God.  The  faces  of  the  servants  (where 
there  were  any)  glowed,  and  the  preacher  and  the 
preacher's  horse  (always  a  notable  animal)  were 
at  Jwme. 


24  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

These  old  Methodist  people  were  not  miserly, 
as  they  have  been  slanderously  reported.  True, 
they  had  no  idea  of  paying  the  preacher  much 
money.  They  had  not  been  so  taught  by  the 
fathers.  The  preachers  did  not  want  much  money, 
did  not  need  much,  ought  not  to  have  much.  They 
were  not  hirelings.  Their  reward  was  on  high. 
And  this  was  all  very  well  while  the  preachers 
followed  Asbury  and  the  fathers,  and  remained 
unmarried.  But  when  they  began  to  have  many 
mouths  to  fill  with  bread — mouths  that  relished 
butter,  too,  if  they  could  only  get  it — wives  and 
children  to  buy  calico  and  shoe  leather  for — poor 
fellows,  it  operated  hard  on  them.  No  wonder  if, 
in  the  bitterness  of  their  souls,  they  said  the 
Methodist  people  were  stingy.  But  they  were 
not  stingy.  They  had  only  been  trained  not  to 
give  much  money  to  the  preachers.  Yet,  when 
was  it  ever  known  that  a  dozen  of  these  same 
preachers  came  up  at  nightfall,  on  their  way  to 
Conference,  before  the  cottage  gate  of  a  Metho- 
dist brother  of  the  old  time — a  poor,  hard-work- 
ing man,  with  a  large  family  to  support,  it  may 
be — that  they  were  not  cheerfully  hailed  as  the 
servants  of  the  Lord,  and  man  and  beast  wel- 
comed to  the  very  best  the  place  afforded,  in  the 
most  cordial  manner  ?  Many  a  brother  who  felt 
it  a  hardship  to  pay  twenty -five  cents  a  quarter 
would  cheerfully  open  his  house  for  preaching 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  25 

every  two  weeks,  and  feed  every  one  who  would 
stay  for  dinner.  And  how  many  would  he  not 
feed  at  the  camp-meeting  ? 

The  fact  is  he  did  not  get  much  money,  but  of 
that  which  he  had  in  abundance,  the  product  of 
his  labor,  he  gave  freely. 

Such  was  the  relation  between  preacher  and 
people  when  Caples,  in  the  flush  of  youth,  be- 
came a  class  leader  and  began  to  be  looked 
upon  as  one  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  Lord. 
There  must  have  been  an  exalted  sympathy  be- 
tween the  young  leader  and  his  class  very  much 
after  the  model  of  apostolic  times.  His  own 
nature  was  generous  and  responsive  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  it  could  not  have  been  otherwise  than 
that  their  social  meetings  were  seasons  of  the 
richest  spiritual  communion — occasions  that  must 
ever  more  glow  in  the  firmament  of  memory  with 
a  lustre  all  the  brighter  as  it  recedes. 

The  simplicity  of  early  Methodism  appears  in 
the  appointment  of  such  a  mere  youth  as  class 
leader.  The  case  was  not  so  very  uncommon 
then.  Gifted  young  men— especially  if  they  were 
thought  of  for  the  ministry — were  often  put  in 
charge  of  classes — young  men  who  would  scarcely 
be  tolerated  in  such  a  relation  anywhere  now. 
They  had  not  much  knowledge,  nor  any  maturity 
of  experience.  Many  members  of  their  classes 
would  be  in  advance  of  them  in  both  of  these 


26  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

respects.  But  if  the  young  brother  was  truly 
pious,  "fervent  in  spirit  serving  the  Lord,"  and 
had  the  "gift  of  utterance,"  he  was  welcomed 
joyfully  as  the  leader  of  their  meetings.  True, 
he  could  not  instruct  them  much,  but  there  was 
that  glow  of  spiritual  sympathy  which  furnishes 
a  species  of  nutrition  for  the  soul  scarcely  less 
important  than  instruction  itself.  The  worshipers 
were  very  devout  and  child-like  in  their  religious 
life,  and  went  to  the  meeting  to  enjoy  communion 
with  God  and  with  His  people,  and  were  not  dis- 
posed to  criticise  each  other's  performances.  It 
was  not  felt  to  be  a  performance — in  fact,  it  was 
a  meeting  of  the  children  of  God  to  build  each 
other  up  on  their  most  holy  faith.  The  rhetoric 
might  be  very  poor,  and,  for  the  matter  of  that, 
the  grammar  barbarous  and  the  matter  crude,  but 
they  did  indeed  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  earnest, 
gifted,  unconscious  young  leader,  though  a  very 
inexperienced  and  incompetent  instructor  in  the 
things  of  God,  was  greatly  loved,  and  was  sure  to 
find  many  an  Aquila  and  Priscilla  to  teach  him 
the  way  of  God  more  perfectly.  Meantime  this 
spiritual  athlete  was  being  trained  for  a  wider 
lield,  where  his  prowess  would  be  called  into  play 
in  a  more  important  contest.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  with  hardened  and  practiced  muscle, 
he  would  wield  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  in  the  very 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  27 

midst  of  the  combat,  and  be  ready  to  speak  with 
the  enemy  in  the  gate. 

Without  doubt  "  William,"  or,  as  he  was,  per- 
haps, affectionately  named  among  them,  "Billy 
Caples,"  was  the  object  of  much  godly  interest 
in  his  class.  The  heart  of  many  a  Christian 
matron  told  her  that  there  was  the  making  of  a 
master  in  him.  Many  an  aged  saint  rejoiced 
that  God  was  still  raising  up  young  men  to  bear 
the  banner  of  the  truth  aloft  when  the  veterans 
then  in  the  field  should  be  no  more. 

The  fervor  of  his  own  spirit,  and  the  pathos  of 
his  wonderful  voice,  among  Methodists  of  that 
day,  could  not  fail  to  secure  lively  class-meetings. 
Newly  born  of  God  as  he  was,  the  overflowing  of 
his  soul  would  be  sure  of  a  full  and  deep  response 
from  the  members.  The  singing  led  by  him  would 
be  loud  and  full  of  the  soul.  There  would  be 
many  tears,  the  most  hearty  amens,  and  I  should 
say  much  shouting  of  praise  to  God,  the  Giver  of 
Salvation;  and  the  little  company  of  believers 
would  go  away  as  giants  refreshed  with  new 
wine. 

The  next  year,  1837,  introduced  our  brother  into 
another  office  in  the  Church — one  which,  in  the 
custom  of  those  days,  looked  more  decidedly  to- 
ward the  ministry.  He  was  licensed  to  exhort. 
It  did  not  follow,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  he 
would  become  a  preacher,  for  many  were  officially 


28  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

recognized  as  exhorters  who  never  went  beyond 
that  point.  There  were  many  men  gifted  in  ex- 
hortation who  could  never  be  useful  in  the  regu- 
lar ministry.  As  leaders  of  prayer-meetings  their 
services  were  invaluable.  I  have  known  some  in 
this  office  to  be  instrumental  in  the  conversion  of 
many  sinners  to  God.  They  used  sometimes  to 
carry  on  protracted  meetings  in  which  there  would 
be  no  formal  preaching,  but  in  which  many  souls 
were  converted.  Would  to  God  there  were  more 
of  such  labor  in  the  Church  in  our  day. 

But  while  it  was  true  that  not  every  exhorter 
became  a  preacher,  yet,  in  that  day,  almost  every 
young  man  looking  to  the  ministry  first  received 
license  to  exhort.  "While  it  opened  to  him  at  once 
a  door  of  usefulness,  it  served  also  to  afford  the 
Church  an  opportunity  to  judge  of  his  gifts.  If 
it  became  apparent  that  he  had  the  capacity  for  a 
higher  work,  and  he  felt  himself  to  be  called  of 
God  to  preach  the  Gospel,  the  requisite  authority 
would  be  conferred  upon  him. 

I  presume  that  in  the  case  of  Brother  Caples  the 
Church  understood  that  they  were  advancing  him 
toward  the  regular  ministry.  This  advancement 
is  in  proof  that  he  had  acquitted  himself  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  brethren  as  a  class  leader, 
though  so  young,  not  only  so  far  as  gifts  were 
concerned,  but  also  in  maintaining  a  consistent 
Christian  character.  This  is  the  more  noteworthy 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  29 

in  his  case  for  the  reason  that  his  nature  was  of 
that  buoyant  sort  that  involves  young  men  in 
great  temptation.  He  was  the  heartiest  compan- 
ion I  ever  knew ;  but  he  had  also  a  strong  will, 
and  having  set  himself  to  be  a  Christian  he  no 
doubt  resisted  in  the  most  decisive  manner  every 
solicitation  of  the  world  that  might  have  compro- 
mised him  as  a  Christian.  The  hilarious  nature 
that  was  so  strong  in  him — that  was  born  in  him 
—must  have  been  under  decided  control  at  this 
period.  Not  that  I  imagine  he  wore  a  long  face 
at  this  time ;  I  can  not  suppose  that  he  was  other- 
wise than  genial  and  joyful,  often  jocular,  in 
social  life ;  but  that  he  kept  himself  within  the 
limit  of  associations  allowed  by  the  Church  must 
have  been  due,  through  the  abounding  grace  of 
God,  to  that  decision  of  character  which  he  pos- 
sessed in  a  remarkable  degree. 

The  office  of  exhorter  he  held  for  two  years.  It 
was  very  common  in  those  days  that  }roung  men 
of  decided  gifts  should  pass  from  the  office  of  ex- 
horter to  that  of  preacher  in  a  few  months.  Many 
became  preachers  and  entered  the  traveling  con- 
nection no  older  than  he  was  when  lie  was  licensed 
to  exhort.  Ardent  and  eager  as  he  was  in  every- 
thing that  he  undertook,  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact 
that  he  lingered  so  long  at  the  threshold  of  the 
ministry.  It  is  not  in  keeping  with  his  general 
character.  It  could  not  have  been  that  the  Church 


30  LIFEOFOAPLES. 

was  doubtful  of  his  capacity ;  I  suppose  that  was 
never  doubted.  There  must  be  some  explanation 
of  this  hesitancy. 

If  my  information  is  correct  there  are  two  facts 
that  furnish  the  clue  to  this  mystery.  One  is,  that 
at  this  time  he  studied  law;  the  other  is,  that 
within  this  period  he  was  married.  This  was  a 
momentous  era  in  his  life.  His  temptations  were 
fearful.  Every  great  soul  has  great  struggles. 
Men  of  Caples'  class  must,  through  much  tribu- 
lation, enter  into  the  Kingdom,  if  they  ever  do 
enter. 

Naturally  he  was  as  ambitious  as  Julius  Caesar. 
The  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glory  of  them 
were  in  his  eye.  They  dazzled  him.  For  a  time 
he  allowed  the  gorgeous  vision  to  master  him  Its 
force  was  greatly  augmented,  just  at  this  critical 
juncture,  by  his  marriage.  Miss  Charlotte  Gist, 
the  daughter  of  Gen.  George  W.  Gist,  formerly 
of  Maryland,  was  young,  beautiful,  intellectual, 
witty.  Her  father  was  of  an  old,  wealthy  Mary- 
land family,  but  had  been  reduced  to  poverty  by 
being  "  surety  for  his  friend  "  The  exquisite 
personal  beauty  and  vivacious  intellect  of  Miss 
Gist  were  an  irresistible  attraction  to  young 
Caples,  and  the  brilliant,  ambitious  student  of 
law  was  accepted  by  her  with  all  the  noble  trust 
of  young  womanhood.  They  were  married,  and 
none  were  ever  joined  with  a  deeper  love.  Mrs. 


LIFE    OF    CAP  LES.  31 

Caples'  views  and  hopes  of  life  were  all  colored 
by  the  chosen  profession  of  her  husband,  while 
his  love  for  and  pride  in  her  would  intensify  his 
own  ambitious  impulses. 

The  wonder  is  that  he  did  enter  the  ministry  at 
all.  His  wife  felt  it  to  be  a  cruel  involvement  of 
her  in  the  poverty  and  humiliations  of  a  calling 
with  which  she  was  not  in  sympathy — a  blight  of 
all  her  hopes.  He  felt  the  same,  for  he  was  always 
most  tenderly  regardful  of  her.  Besides  that,  in 
devoting  himself  to  the  itinerant  ministry,  he 
crucified  self  in  its  most  sensitive  consciousness — 
his  ambition. 


32  LIFE    OF    CAPLES 


CHAPTER   III. 


CALLED  OF  GOD  TO  PREACH  THE  GOSPEL. 

In  1839,  General  Gist,  with  his  family,  accom- 
panied by  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Caples,  and  his 
wife,  emigrated  to  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  set- 
tled at  or  near  Westport — I  think  in  the  town. 

Whether  Mr.  Caples  engaged  in  any  business 
here,  or  if  any,  what  it  was,  I  know  not. 

He  came  to  Missouri,  with  his  certificate  of 
membership  in  the  Church  and  his  license  as  an 
exhorter.  Promptly  uniting  with  the  Church  in 
his  new  home,  and  becoming  active  in  the  public 
meetings,  his  remarkable  talents  were  at  once 
recognized.  He  was  put  forward  on  all  occasions, 
and  always  listened  to  with  great  interest.  In  a 
very  short  time  he  was  induced  to  take  license  to 
preach,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  was 
received  on  trial  into  the  Missouri  Conference. 

From  himself  I  learned  that  from  the  moment 
of  conversion  he  had  a  conviction  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  preach,  that  he  was  strongly  tempted  to 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  33 

another  vocation,  as  I  have  already  stated,  and 
that  conscience,  after  considerable  delay,  was 
master.  But,  minutely,  what  were  the  incidents 
connected  with  the  final  decision  I  do  not  know. 
Whether  the  long  continued  struggle  was  termi- 
nated "by  some  special,  marked  interference  of 
Providence,  some  immediate  quickening  of  the 
spiritual  life,  or  was  an  act  done  in  homage  to  the 
will  of  God  without  any  unusual  excitement,  I 
know  not.  I  do  know,  however,  in  a  general  way, 
that  it  resulted  from  a  profound  conviction,  long 
felt,  that  God  had  laid  on  him  the  burden  of  the 
ministry.  As  his  consciousness  of  the  new  birth 
was  clear,  so  the  sense  of  his  vocation  was  pro- 
found. 

Young  men,  feeling  impelled  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  are  not  unfrequently  uncertain  as  to  the 
nature  and  source  of  the  impulse.  They  know 
not  how  to  decide  as  to  what  may  safely  be  re- 
garded the  call  of  God.  There  is,  also,  very 
often,  great  reluctance  to  enter  upon  the  life  of  a 
preacher.  Nor  does  this  reluctance  always  arise 
out  of  worldly  motives.  Sometimes  there  is  a 
solemn  fear  of  assuming  these  sacred  and  awful 
obligations  uncalled.  A  tender  conscience  dreads 
to  assume  them  presumptuously.  To  speak  in 
God's  name,  unauthorized,  is  no  light  matter,  and 
the  force  of  this  is  felt  in  proportion  as  the  con- 
science is  enlightened  and  sensitive.  Nor  is  it 
3 


34  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

easy — perhaps  it  is  not  possible — to  define  the 
call  of  God  as  it  is  realized  in  the  soul.  The 
experience  of  it,  I  suppose,  is  not  identical  in 
every  individual,  but  varies  according  to  character 
and  circumstances.  With  some  it  is  an  over- 
whelming conviction  from  the  first.  In  other 
instances  it  may  be  less  distinct  and  impressive ; 
but  in  all  cases  where  God  has  chosen  a  man  for 
this  work  He  will,  in  one  way  or  another,  bring 
the  duty  home  to  his  conscience. 

No  doubt  some  run  who  have  never  been  sent 
on  this  errand.  It  is  not  every  impulse  toward  a 
good  work  that  comes  from  God.  I  think  it  very 
likely  that  some  good  men  suppose  themselves  to 
be  called  when  in  fact  they  are  not.  Brother 
William  Shields,  of  Columbia,  once  told  me  that 
he  never  heard  a  talented  man  preach  that  he  did 
not  feel  a  strong  impulse  to  be  a  preacher  himself. 
This  he  discriminated  from  a  call  to  preach,  no 
doubt  very  justly.  But  others,  not  accustomed 
to  an  intelligent  analysis  of  their  own  mental 
state,  fail  to  make  this  discrimination,  and  infer 
that  every  impulse  toward  the  pulpit  is  the  call 
of  God.  The  disposition  to  be  a  public  speaker 
is  not  uncommon,  and  that,  in  a  religious  man,  it 
should  associate  itself  with  the  pulpit  is  not  sur- 
prising. The  fact  of  such  a  desire  is  not  proof  of 
its  divine  origin. 

Others  who  are  called,  resist.     So  it  falls  out 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  35 

that  some  are  in  the  sacred  office  uncalled,  and 
•others  in  secular  life  who  have  been  designated 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  this  work.  The  ideal 
Church  is  perfect,  but  the  actual  Church  is  not. 
The  basis  of  the  Church  is  divine.  Its  doctrine  is 
of  God,  and  is  perfect.  Its  essential  constitution 
is  of  God,  and  is  perfect.  But  the  human  mate- 
rial in  which  it  takes  its  organization  is  very 
stubborn  and  impracticable — often  cranky.  No 
wonder  things  get  out  of  joint  at  times,  and  that 
there  is  more  or  less  of  friction  in  the  working  of 
the  Church.  That  it  does  not  go  to  pieces  is  due 
to  the  power  of  the  indwelling  Spirit  "  We  are 
builded  together  for  the  habitation  of  God  by  the 
Spirit."  The  Holy  Presence,  counter-working  the 
depravity  of  man,  sanctifying  believers  and  help- 
ing their  infirmities,  preserves  the  Church  as 
God's  great  agent  in  saving  men. 

How,  then,  is  a  young  man,  under  an  impres- 
sion that  he  is  designated  to  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, to  judge  of  the  character  of  his  impression? 
How  is  he  to  know  that  it  is  from  God  ? 

1.  Let  him  live  near  to  God.  Let  him,  by  prayer 
— earnest,  constant  prayer — put  himself  in  God's 
hand  to  be  guided  whithersoever  He  will.  Let 
pride  and  self-will  be  thus  cast  out.  When  he  is, 
in  fact,  ready  for  God's  will  to  be  done  he  will  be 
led  by  a  way  he  knows  not.  If  he  is  really  a 
chosen  vessel,  and  gives  himself  up  to  be  any- 


36  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

thing  or  nothing,  as  it  may  please  Him  that 
called  him,  God  will  "  set  his  feet  in  the  way  of 
his  steps." 

2.  Where  there  is  a  call  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry  there  will  be  a  corresponding  Provi- 
dence opening  the  way.     The  good  man's  steps 
are    ordered    of    God.      The    inward    spiritual 
prompting  will  find  corresponding  opportunity 
and  encouragement  in  outward  conditions.   There 
will  be  an  open  door. 

3.  The  Church  will  find  out  her  messengers. 
There  is  a  wonderful  intuition  among  the  people 
of  God  in  such  matters.     I  have  never  known  it 
to  fail.     Often  the  young  man  designed  by  the 
Head  of  the  Church  for  the  ministry  of  the  Word 
is  pointed  out  by  the  Church  before  he  has  any 
definite  conviction  in  himself.    Where  there  is  a 
truly  spiritual  Church,  and  the  members  concur  in 
a  spontaneous  selection  of  a  young  man,  it  is  very 
strong  proof  of  his  vocation. 

4.  The  discipline  contemplates  a  period  of  ap- 
prenticeship.    There  can  be  nothing  more  repug- 
nant to  modesty  and  good  sense,  not  to  say  Chris- 
tian feeling,  than  the  custom  of  making  young 
men  preach  Iritil  sermons.    The  effect  must  be 
bad — bad  on  the  candidate  and  on  the  Church. 
Rather  let  him  hold  prayer-meetings  and  exhort, 
as  occasion  may  serve — not  under  circumstances 
where  he  will  expect  criticism,  but  with  a  view  of 


LIFE     OF     CAP  LES.  37 

doing  gor>d.  In  this  apprentice  work,  often  awk- 
ward and  embarrassed  enough,  the  heart  of  the 
Church  will  respond  to  the  voice  of  the  true  worker. 
The  questions  of  the  discipline  can  then  be  an- 
swered— "Has  he  gifts?  Has  he  grace?  Has  he 
fruit  ? "  The  fruit  may  not  have  ripened  into  great 
results.  It  may  appear  more  in  serious  congrega- 
tions and  in  the  comforting  of  the  Church. 

"Where  there  is  any  sense  of  duty,  an  open  door 
and  a  concurrent  selection  by  the  Church,  it  may 
be  safely  understood  that  the  man  is  indeed  chosen 
of  the  Lord  to  bear  the  message  of  salvation  to 
the  lost. 

At  the  same  time,  when  the  harvest  is  white  and 
the  laborers  few,  as  now,  it  becomes  the  Church  to 
be  on  her  knees.  "VYe  must  pray  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  to  send  forth  laborers. 

Many,  resisting  a  conviction  of  duty,  fall  into 
great  temptation  and  distress,  and  many  back- 
slide. The  biographies  of  old  time  Methodist 
preachers  abound  with  details  of  dreadful  anguish 
suffered  and  fearful  struggles  of  soul,  with  the 
words  resounding  continually  within,  "  Wo  is  me 
if  I  preach  not  the  gospel."  To  be  a  Methodist 
preacher  then  was  extremely  repugnant  to  flesh 
and  blood.  The  call  in  those  days  required  to  be 
uttered  in  a  most  authoritative  tone.  No  slight 
impulse  would  move  a  man  to  the  great  under- 
taking. To  be  a  laughing-stock  for  many,  to 


38  LIFE     OFCAPLE8. 

forego  domestic  pleasures,  to  be  a  wayfarer  all  Ms 
days,  to  suffer  great  exposures  and  perform  hercu- 
lean labors — this  was  what  was  in  the  perspective 
on  the  worldly  side  of  the  picture.  "When  they 
sang, 

"  No  foot  of  land  do  I  possess," 

they  used  no  metaphor,  but  sang  just  the  plain 
truth. 

At  the  threshold  of  such  a  ministry  the  struggle 
was  sharp,  and  many  a  refractory  spirit  was  lashed 
forward  with  a  whip  of  scorpions.  Days  of  bitter- 
ness and  nights,  of  groaning  preceded  the  final 
decision. 

But  when  a  man  is  not  contumacious  he  usually 
escapes  the  horrors  of  such  a  struggle.  Every 
man,  however,  must  realize  the  solemnity  of  the 
work.  I  can  not  conceive  of  a  man  being  set  be- 
tween the  living  and  the  dead  and  made  responsible 
for  souls  for  whom  Christ  died  without  feeling  him- 
self oppressed.  What  an  awe  of  God  must  be 
upon  him !  A  man  so  flippant  as  not  to  tremble 
at  the  thought  of  occupying  such  a  place  is  not  fit 
to  represent  the  Son  of  God  in  the  world. 

Such  a  man  as  Caples,  we  may  be  sure,  realized 
his  position  fully.  The  consecration  of  himself 
to  this  work,  in  the  midst  of  the  temptations  men- 
tioned in  the  last  chapter,  with  his  sensibilities,  at 
once  quick  and  profound  as  they  were,  is  sufficient 
evidence  of  the  power  of  God  felt  to  be  upon  him. 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  39 

No  tiling  short  of  an  adequate  sense  of  the  majesty 
of  a  righteous  God — an  overwhelming  view  of  the 
Infinite  Authority — could  have  caused  him,  ten- 
derly and  considerately  as  he  loved  his  wife,  to 
involve  her  in  the  fortunes  of  a  life  to  which  she 
felt  a  repugnance  almost  amounting  to  horror. 

He  did  not  often  speak  of  his  deepest  experi- 
ences. Now  and  then,  with  a  trusted  friend,  he 
would.  When  he  did,  it  was  with  deep  feeling 
and  solemnity.  Not  that  sort  of  feeling  which 
expresses  itself  with  tears,  but  that  profounder 
sensibility  which  appears  in  the  countenance  and 
in  the  whole  aspect.  His  voice — who  that  ever 
heard  that  voice  when  fully  laden  has  lost  the 
echo  of  it  ? — was  the  most  adequate  vehicle  of  such 
emotion  that  I  ever  heard.  Once  in  public  and 
once  or  twice  in  private  I  have  heard  him  refer  to 
the  offering  of  himself  on  the  altar  of  God,  and 
well  do  I  remember  the  impression  it  made  on  me. 
I  never  after  doubted  that  he  had  talked  with  God 
(so  to  speak)  in  the  secret  place  of  thunder. 

The  momentum  of  Godhead,  delivered  upon  his 
soul,  set  him  forward  upon  the  course  of  his  min- 
istry. Nothing  less  than  this  could  have  changed 
the  direction  of  his  life  from  its  ambitious  course. 
This  divine  momentum  came  upon  a  most  forceful 
soul.  It  contended  even  with  the  Omnipotent  for 
awhile ;  but  it  was  at  a  greater  disadvantage  in 
such  a  contest  than  a  feebler  spirit  would  have 


40  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

been.  A  soul  feels  God  in  the  measure  of  its  own 
capacities,  and  agonizes  under  the  weight  of  Him 
in  the  measure  of  the  power  it  puts  forth  in  the 
struggle.  In  his  case  the  contest  was  an  agony 
insupportable,  and  the  victory  was  God's.  It  is 
due  to  a  will,  stubborn  almost  to  desperation,  that 
the  agony  was  protracted  at  all. 

When  he  did  capitulate  he  did  not  attempt  the 
folly  of  making  terms  with  God.  He  gave  him- 
self up  to  the  Infinite  Conqueror.  Soul,  body,  wife, 
children,  all  were  lawful  spoils,  and,  with  a  single 
exception,  to  be  mentioned  hereafter,  were  thence- 
forth surrendered  to  the  Lord. 

God's  best  steel  is  always  tempered  in  a  hot 
furnace.  Moses,  David,  Isaiah,  Paul,  Wyckliffe, 
Luther,  Wesley,  all  passed  through  the  fire.  Every 
keen  blade  has  been  in  the  fire  and  on  the  anvil. 
Caples  was,  and  took  a  temper  and  edge  that  held 
to  the  very  last. 

Sometimes  the  fiery  trial  is  entirely  within, 
sometimes  largely  without.  With  Caples  it  was 
chiefly  the  former,  though  not  exclusively. 

The  secret  of  the  agonism  is  with  him  and  God. 
Only  sufficient  sign  of  it  to  intimate  its  intensity 
was  seen  by  any  mortal  eye. 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  41 


CHAPTER   IV. 


HOW   HE   WAS   EDUCATED   FOR  THE   MINISTRY. 

I  have  made  two  statements  in  reference  to  Mr. 
Caples  that,  to  some,  will  seem  to  contradict  each 
other.  One  is,  that  his  educational  advantages  in 
early  life  were  very  limited — that  he  had  not  a 
liberal  education.  The  other  is,  that  he  had  pre- 
pared himself  for  the  profession  of  the  law.  Both 
these  statements,  however,  are  true. 

It  was  no  uncommon  thing  in  the  West,  at  an 
early  day,  for  ambitious  young  men,  not  even  well 
grounded  in  a  common  English  education,  to  study 
law  and  gain  admission  to  the  bar.  Many  of  them 
became  respectable ;  some  of  them  attained  great 
eminence.  Hon.  James  S.  Green,  who  at  one  time 
was  the  recognized  peer  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  the  United  States  Senate,  had  no  collegiate 
education.  Henry  Clay,  peerless  in  the  Senate, 
when  it  was  a  Senate,  was  in  this  category.  Caples 
would  have  been  another  if  he  had  not  turned  to 
a  higher  calling. 


42  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

Our  Church  at  present  is  all  agog  on  the  subject 
of  "  an  educated  ministry."  The  changes  are  rung 
on  this  phrase  until  one  is  almost  confused  by  the 
din. 

I  suppose  no  man  of  good  sense  doubts  that  a 
liberal  education  is  of  great  value  to  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel.  The  knowledge  acquired  is  itself 
an  important  advantage.  It  gives  a  man  confi- 
dence to  be  able  to  make  his  exegesis  of  a  passage 
of  Scripture  from  the  original  text.  But  the  chief 
value  of  literary  advantages,  I  take  it,  is  in  that 
training  which  gives  facility  both  in  acquiring 
and  using  knowledge. 

Caples  had  a  definite  theory  on  this  subject  of 
ministerial  education,  as  indeed  he  had  on  all 
subjects,  for  he  was  a  man  of  positive  ideas. 
There  was  nothing  negative  in  him.  His  views 
on  this  subject  are  well  known  in  the  Missouri 
Conference.  He  did  not  undervalue  education. 
He  saw  as  clearly  as  any  man  the  importance  of 
it.  He  felt  more  deeply  than  most  men  on  the 
subject.  His  connection  with  the  educational  his- 
tory of  the  Church  in  Missouri,  which  will  be  given 
in  its  proper  place,  will  show  this. 

His  conviction  was  that  if  the  Church  would 
do  its  full  duty  in  sustaining  colleges  and  high 
schools,  under  positive  Christian  influence,  there 
would  be  an  ample  supply  of  educated  young 
men  raised  up  in  the  ministry.  This  he  regarded 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  43 

as  all-sufficient.  Consequently,  lie  laid  himself 
out  to  establish  a  grand  system  of  schools  in  his 
Conference — a  system  to  be  noticed  hereafter. 

Theological  Seminaries  were  an  abomination  to 
him.  He  had  come  in  contact  with  many  poor 
specimens  of  their  work.  The  conclusion  reached 
by  him  was  that  they  made  sermon-readers  and 
not  preachers,  copyists  and  not  thinkers,  pretend- 
-ers  rather  than  men.  To  learn  theology  and  put 
it  to  use,  acquiring  the  facility  of  using  it  as  you 
acquire  the  knowledge  of  it — and  at  the  same 
time  to  be  learning  men  in  the  actual  circuit 
work — he  regarded  as  the  method  that  had  turned 
out  the  best  specimens.  The  young  man  formed 
thus  will  never  have  a  sophomoric  manner.  He 
will  be  free  and  original  —  and  an  original  he 
thought  better  than  a  mere  copy,  even  if  it  did 
lack  somewhat  in  polish.  The  polish  is  very 
well,  provided  a  man  does  not  become  prim  and 
angular  in  taking  it  on,  and  the  young  preacher 
on  a  circuit,  if  he  is  anybody  or  can  be  made 
anything  of,  will  take  on  refinement  in  an  easy 
way,  escaping  the  conventionalities  and  imitations 
that  will  come  into  vogue  in  a  theological  school, 
where  the  students  take  their  cue  from  one  set  of 
men  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Intercourse  with 
society  will  refine  him  if  he  was  not  refined  at 
home,  and  hearing  a  great  many  good  preachers 
will  break  up  any  tendency  to  ape  one.  He  will 


44  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

take  his  manner,  as  the  Irishman  did  the  small- 
pox, in  the  natural  way.  An  easy,  self-possessed 
bearing  in  the  pulpit  and  in  society  will  be  the 
result.  That  is,  if  he  be  of  good  material.  If  he 
be  too  knotty  or  stolid  to  come  to  anything  with 
this  training,  he  will  turn  the  edge  of  all  the  tools 
in  the  preacher  factory.  The  most  skillful  work- 
man can  never  whittle  him  into  shape. 

Such  were  his  views,  though  I  have  given  a  poor 
idea  of  the  vivacity  with  which  they  were  often 
expressed. 

As  to  the  value  of  theological  schools,  the  la- 
mented Col.  Thos.  C.  Johnson,  late  President  of 
Randolph  Macon  College,  held  much  the  same 
opinions.  Give  your  young  preachers,  he  said,  a 
thorough  literary  and  scientific  training,  and  with 
the  mental  power  thus  acquired,  the  habit  of 
systematic  thinking,  let  them  enter  the  ministry 
and  take  the  regular  course  of  study  prescribed 
by  the  Church.  The  fact  is,  if  the  young  man  has 
been  trained  in  a  Christian  family,  or  in  the  Sun- 
day School,  or  has  even  been  a  regular  attendant 
of  church,  he  will  know  a  good  deal  of  theology 
to  begin  with,  and  that  the  most  vital  part  of  it. 
And,  after  all,  it  is  not  theology  that  requires  to 
be  preached  so  much  as  religion. 

But  Caples,  while  he  was  anxious  to  have  young 
men  well  educated,  would  never  consent  to  making 
a  liberal  education  a  condition  of  reception  into 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  45 

the  Conference.  A  young  man  of  good  capacity, 
if  he  could  do  no  more  than  read  tolerably  well, 
and  was  studious,  he  held,  would  make  a  man  of 
himself,  and  that  in  a  short  time.  In  fact,  he 
declared  that  if  the  Methodist  itinerancy  did  not 
make  a  man  of  one,  nothing  would.  All  the  col- 
leges in  the  world  would  leave  him  where  they 
found  him — a  two-legged  thing — a  mere  "  "biped 
without  feathers." 

The  members  of  the  Missouri  Conference  will 
never  forget  his  College  on  Horseback.  The  stu- 
dents were  the  young  traveling  preachers.  The 
college  edifice  was  "  all  out  of  doors."  The  library 
was  not  on  so  magnificent  a  scale,  though  very 
convenient,  it  being  in  one  end  of  his  saddlebags. 
Watson's  Institutes  he  held  to  be  equal  to  a  course 
of  mathematics  for  mental  discipline.  Wesley's 
Sermons  could  not  be  read  with  care  without  in- 
ducing a  habit  of  exact  thinking.  Then  the  Bible, 
God's  own  text  book  in  the  science  of  salvation, 
studied  with  reference  to  excellent  commentaries, 
and  in  communion  with  nature,  was  the  best  edu- 
cator in  the  world.  At  the  same  time,  the  literary 
course  prescribed  was  sufficient  to  give  the  young 
student  a  taste  for  general  studies  to  be  prosecuted 
in  after  years.  While  these  studies  are  going  on 
he  is  on  horseback  every  day — in  the  open  air — 
in  vital  sympathy  with  nature,  and  with  God 
through  nature.  He  is  also  preaching  every  day 


40  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

or  two,  reducing  what  he  learns,  in  the  crucible 
of  his  own  thought,  to  a  new  coinage  out  of  his 
proper  mint.  The  analytical  powers  of  a  man 
would  thus  "be  cultivated,  he  maintained,  much 
more  fully  than  would  be  possible  in  school.  The 
student  would  at  the  same  time  be  gaining  confi- 
dence in  his  own  thought.  Best  of  all,  he  would 
be  in  condition  to  "grow  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Savior  Jesus  Christ." 

In  point  of  fact,  he  maintained  that  the  Horse- 
back College  had  turned  out  the  best  preachers  in 
the  world.  The  average  Methodist  preacher  was 
above  the  average  in  Churches  that  required  a 
classical  education  of  every  preacher.  The  class 
of  men  distinguished  in  the  pulpit,  he  affirmed, 
from  this  College,  was  largely  in  excess  of  those 
from  the  Theological  schools.  As  for  the  great 
names  that  tower  above  all  the  rest,  the  master 
spirits  that  stir  a  continent,  he  claimed  the  same 
distinction  in  favor  of  this  Methodist  College. 
Nor  was  he  at  a  loss  for  instances.  Joshua  Soule, 
Lovick  Pierce,  H.  B.  Bascom,  H.  H.  Kavanaugh, 
and  I  know  not  how  many  he  gave  in  illustration 
and  proof  of  his  assertion.  His  auditors  would 
be  sure  to  think  of  lum  as  another. 

He  would  sometimes  add,  with  great  gusto, 
that  what  was  the  matter  with  us  was  not  the 
want  of  education  among  the  preachers,  but  that 
we  had  given  the  people  so  much  first-rate  preach- 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  47 

ing  that  they  were  spoiled.  They  had  "been  fed 
too  high.  Anything  second-rate  was  insipid  to 
them.  A  preacher  that  any  other  Church  would 
be  proud  of,  Methodists  would  turn  up  their  noses 
at.  (He  did  not,  on  occasion,  hesitate  to  use  a 
very  expressive  phrase,  though  it  might  be  want- 
ing in  elegance.  His  style  in  the  pulpit,  however, 
was  uniformly  elevated.)  The  alternations  o£  the 
Itinerancy,  the  quarterly  visits  of  the  Presiding 
Elder,  and  the  free  interchange  of  ministerial 
services  on  revival  occasions,  had  familiarized  all 
the  people  with  the  best  preaching,  and  every  cir- 
cuit had  begun  to  feel  itself  entitled  to  preach- 
ing of  a  high  order.  If  a  man  of  good,  plain  com- 
mon sense  was  sent,  such  as  a  congregation  of 
another  church  would  honor,  they  felt  themselves 
aggrieved,  wronged.  Their  claims  had  been  over- 
looked. 

He  had  a  good  humored  way  of  saying  very 
plain  things  in  a  very  cutting  manner.  Half  the 
severity  sometimes  used  by  him  would  turn  a 
congregation  into  a  swarm  of  wasps  coming  from 
almost  any  one  else  He  had  Dr.  J.  B.  McFer- 
rin's  faculty  of  delivering  the  most  unpalatable 
truths  in  a  way  to  be  felt  without  exciting  anger. 
I  have  heard  him  say  from  the  pulpit  that  in  one 
respect  the  Methodists  were  the  meanest  people 
in  the  world — -that  was  in  criticising  their  preacher. 
When  the  new  preacher  arrived  the  church  con-* 


48  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

stituted  itself  into  a  committee  on  his  case,  and  if 
any  flaw  might  be  discovered  it  was  sure  to  be 
the  topic  in  all  circles.  "  The  Conference  has 
treated  us  badly,"  they  exclaim,  and  so  prejudice 
the  public  against  their  pastor.  If  he  had  preached 
the  very  same  sermon,  or  one  not  half  so  good,  as 
the  pastor  of  a  congregation  in  connection  with 
the  Presbyterian  or  Baptist  Church,  his  people, 
overlooking  what  might  have  been  open  to  criti- 
cism in  it,  and  fastening  upon  the  real  gospel 
teaching  it  contained,  would  have  said,  "  What  a 
good  sermon  we  did  have  to-day!  It  brought 
home  the  truth  with  such  force.  Such  preaching 
must  do  good."  And  this,  said  honestly  and  with 
real  feeling,  would  go  far  to  propitiate  the  public, 
and  secure  such  influence  for  the  preacher  as 
would  greatly  aid  him  in  his  high  calling. 

I  have  more  than  once  heard  Mr.  Caples  in- 
dulge in  this  vein  of  remark.  I  think  his  view  of 
this  evil  was  somewhat  exaggerated,  yet  there  is 
cause  of  self-examination  among  us  on  this  very 
point.  I  believe,  verily,  that  no  other  people  go 
to  church  for  the  pleasure  of  hearing  fine  preach- 
ing so  much  as  the  Methodists.  It  may  be  gravely 
questioned  if  this  be  not  an  unwholesome  condi- 
tion. If  our  motive  were  rather  to  be  reminded  of 
duty,  if  we  were  occupied  more  with  the  weighty 
matter  that  is  in  every — even  the  poorest — ser- 
mon, we  could  never  fail  to  be  fed,  and  grow 


LITEOFCAPLES.  49 

thereby.  Far  "better  would  it  be  if  we  were  more 
occupied  with  the  truth  of  a  sermon,  and  less  with 
the  rhetoric.  If  we  did  but  look  on  the  minister 
as  being  (what  he  is  in  truth)  God's  messenger, 
bearing  to  us  God's  message  touching  our  sin  and 
our  Savior,  we  should  never  go  away  from  the 
house  of  God  unprotited.  A  church  rallying  to 
a  preacher  earnestly  will  communicate  a  measure 
of  its  enthusiasm  to  the  community  at  large  ;  and 
if  this  enthusiasm  arise  out  of  interest  in  him  as 
the  servant  oftlie  Lord,  and  not  as  afinepreacTier, 
the  effect  in  the  end  will  be  the  deeper  and  better. 
Mr.  Wesley  said  he  would  no  more  dare  to  preach 
a  fine  sermon  than  to  wear  a  fine  coat.  His  fol- 
lowers, I  fear,  too  many  of  them,  consider  both  a 
desideratum. 

Mr.  Caples,  so  far,  however,  from  being  opposed 
to  the  education  of  preachers,  held  every  man  in 
the  sacred  office  deeply  culpable  if  he  failed  to 
use  every  opportunity  to  study.  There  was  during 
his  lifetime  a  popular  belief  that  he  himself  did 
not  study.  This  belief  arose  out  of  the  fact  that 
his  acquaintances  could  never  imagine  what  time 
he  had  for  study  amid  all  the  official  and  social 
demands  to  which  he  responded  without  stint. 
"  I  never  saw  him  with  a  book  in  his  hand  "  was 
on  the  lips  of  many.  Yet  he  did  read,  and  to 
much  better  purpose  than  most  of  us.  As  a  stu- 
dent he  was,  as  in  most  other  respects,  sui  generis. 


50  LIFEOFOAPLES. 

No  young  man  could,  with  safety,  make  him  his 
model. 

No  other  man  that  I  ever  knew  read  so  much 
in  so  little  time.  Not  that  he  was  a  fast  reader — 
the  reverse  was  true.  He  read  with  deliberation, 
and  took  time  for  thought.  He  masticated  his 
mental  food.  He  did  not  bolt  it.  Yet  there  were 
very  few  books  that  he  had  read  through, 
straight.  Prefaces  and  introductions  might  as 
well  never  have  been  written,  so  far  as  he  was 
concerned.  Much  of  the  body  of  a  book  would 
go  unread  and  yet  the  book  Itself  be  mastered. 
Getting  the  analysis  of  it,  and  reading  carefully 
the  parts  that  gave  the  hinge,  the  rest  would  be 
so  open  to  him  as  to  require  only  to  be  glanced 
over.  He  had  a  wonderful  faculty  of  absorption. 

I  doubt  if  any  preacher  in  Missouri  had  so  good 
a  library,  or  knew  so  much  that  was  in  it.  He 
was  a  great  devourer  of  the  best  old  English  au- 
thors. South's  sermons — how  he  luxuriated  in 
them !  Some  books  of  this  class  he  read  through. 
With  pabulum  like  this  he  could  feel  himself 
fatten.  His  style  in  the  pulpit  betrayed  the  com- 
pany he  kept.  It  was  his  own,  but  you  could  see 
the  stuff  out  of  which  he  had  made  it.  I  speak 
not  only  of  language,  but  also  of  the  style  of 
thought.  Watson's  Institutes  had  actually  been 
soaked  into  him.  Only  the  Bible,  with  him,  had 
precedence  of  that  book. 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  51 

He  had  eminent  facility  in  learning  from  orig- 
inal sources  —  communion  with  himself,  ,*.  with 
men,  with  nature,  and  with  God.  His  pow- 
ers of  observation  were  very  remarkable.  His 
mind  would  fasten  upon  a  fact  and  use  it  up  di- 
rectly. He  consumed  a  world  of  raw  food  as  he 
found  it — stuff  that  the  rest  of  us  never  thought  of 
eating  until  it,  came  to  us  from  some  accredited 
caterer,  all  duly  prepared  and  spiced,  and  served 
in  respectable  platters,  with  appetizing  condi- 
ments. Much  that  "books  are  made  of"  was 
appropriated  and  in  use  by  him  before  he  ever 
saw  it  in  books. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  seen  that 
Mr.  Caples  had  no  specific  education  for  the  pul- 
pit. Some  important  training  he  had,  as  a  class 
leader  and  as  an  exhorter.  His  law  studies,  also, 
were  of  great  service,  no  doubt.  The  Bible  had 
been  read  with  care.  This  was  his  equipment  for 
the  great  work,  so  far  as  mental  culture  was  con- 
cerned. 

His  spiritual  preparation  was  much  more  ample. 
It  consisted  of  a  sound  experience  of  converting 
grace  and  a  solemn  conviction  of  duty. 

From  this  point  of  departure  he  went  forward, 
and  became — I  say  it  without  qualification — the 
greatest  preacher  in  Missouri.  His  rank  would 
have  been  with  the  first  class  anywhere  on  the 
continent. 


52  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

I  take  this  opportunity  to  say  what  is  in  my 
heart  on  the  subject  so  much  agitated  in  the 
Church  now — the  education  of  young  men  for  the 
ministry.  Above  I  have  given  Mr.  Caples'  views ; 
I  propose  now  to  give  my  own. 

The  great  body  of  Methodist  preachers  in 
America  have  been  what  is  popularly  phrased 
"  uneducated  men ;"  that  is,  they  entered  the  min- 
istry with  nothing  more  than  a  common  school 
education — many  of  them  with  much  less  than 
that.  Many  of  them  have  become,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years,  men  of  large  information  and  ripe 
scholars  in  Biblical  learning,  so  far  as  this  is 
attainable  in  "  their  own  language  wherein  they 
were  born." 

In  point  of  fact,  they  have  influenced  American 
society,  in  religious  matters,  more  effectually  than 
any  other  class  of  preachers.  The  census  of 
Methodism  is  the  astonishment  of  the  world.  But 
the  literal  census  gives  only  a  very  partial  state- 
ment of  the  result  of  these  men's  work.  The 
fruits  of  Methodist  revivals  abound  in  other 
churches.  I  have  known  flourishing  churches  of 
other  denominations  which  were  replenished  from 
scarcely  any  other  source.  It  is  proverbial  what 
numbers  go  from  the  "mourner's  bench"  ^this  is 
purely  Methodist  termonology)  into  other  com- 
munions. Other  churches  have  fallen  largely  into 
the  methods  of  labor  and  the  character  of  preach- 


LIFEOPCAPLES.  53 

ing  whicli  have  been  so  potential  amongst  us.  Be- 
side all  tins,  these  "uneducated"  men  have  revo- 
lutionized the  popular  theology  of  this  continent. 

On  the  human  side  the  causes  of  this  astonish- 
ing success  are  apparent.  These  preachers  were 
men  of  the  people.  They  were  fresh  from  the 
various  callings  of  life,  and  were  in  the  fullest 
sympathy  with  the  masses.  Their  doctrine,  in 
some  aspects,  was  new  and  striking,  and  on  the 
mere  statement  of  it  commended  itself  to  the 
common  sense  of  men.  Their  sermons  were  not 
burdened  with  unintelligible  theological  terms. 
Every  word  was  in  the  mother  tongue,  every  sen- 
tence was  fully  comprehended,  even  by  the  less 
intelligent  classes.  They  were  very  ardent — their 
words  took  fire  in  their  own  hearts  and  went  out 
blazing  among  the  people.  They  were  bold  men, 
never  hesitating  to  denounce  the  most  popular 
vices.  They  rebuked  sin  with  no  feeble  generali- 
zation, but  a  pointed  and  barbed  shaft  was  driven 
into  the  profane  swearer,  the  Sabbath-breaker,  the 
drunkard,  the  man  who  did  not  pay  his  debts,  the 
gambler.  Theaters,  balls,  circuses,  grogshops, 
were  pointed  out  as  so  many  gates  of  hell.  Sinai 
was  altogether  on  flame  before  their  congregations, 
Ah !  these  men  knew  where  the  conscience  lay, 
and  with  what  probe  to  touch  the  quick  of  it. 

Then  when  a  man  foil,  thunder-smitten,  among 
the  crags  of  Sinai,  with  what  skill  they  lifted  him 


54  LIFEOFOAPLES. 

and  laid  him  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  under  the 
stream  that  dropped  warm  and  healing  from  the 
very  heart  of  the  Victim  who  "  tasted  death  for 
every  man."  Themselves  knew  his  power  to  save. 
"  A  FREE  salvation — a  FULL  salvation — a  PRESENT 
salvation — conditioned  upon  faith — this  was  their 
theme.  Sin  they  pictured  "  in  all  its  blackest 
hue,"  and  salvation  in  all  its  richest  fullness,  its 
present  plenitude  and  power. 

"  Gaining  knowledge  is  a  good  thing,  but  saving 
souls  is  better."  This  came  from  Mr.  Wesley, 
and  who  can  tell  the  power  his  words  had  over  the 
early  Methodist  preachers  ?  Their  prime  business 
was  to  save  souls,  and  they  were  all  their  time 
engaged  in  it,  redeeming  at  the  same  time  every 
possible  moment  for  study.  At  the  cabin  fireside 
in  the  winter  evenings,  under  the  shade  of  a  tree 
in  the  spare  hours  of  a  summer  day,  in  the  saddle, 
they  would  be  reading  some  important  book. 
Preaching  almost  every  day,  what  they  had 
learned  they  put  to  service  at  once.  Thus,  not 
unfrequently,  they  became  men  of  extensive 
knowledge  —  real  Doctors  of  Theology.  This 
knowledge  came  from  them  to  the  people  in  popu- 
lar language,  in  the  form  of  impassioned  extempo- 
raneous sermons. 

Then  on  the  spiritual  side  they  were  men  of 
deep  experience  in  the  tilings  of  God,  men  of 
much  prayer  and  great  faith.  Their  word  was  in 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  55 

power.  They  ever  heard  the  sound  of  their  Mas- 
ter's footsteps  behind  them,  and  His  voice  saying 
to  them,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world."  And  He  was  with  them. 
They  felt  it,  they  knew  it.  They  had  wrestled 
with  the  Angel,  and  had  power  with  God  and 
with  men.  Each  one  was  an  Israel  —  a  Prince  of 
God.  They  were  much  with  God  in  secret,  and 
He  rewarded  and  honored  them  openly. 

But  I  shall  be  told  that  things  are  changed 
now — that  there  is  extemporaneous  preaching  all 
over  the  land  with  much  of  the  Methodist  fervor 
and  power,  by  educated  men  of  other  denomina- 
tions, and  that  the  people  at  large  are  themselves 
more  intelligent,  so  that  our  preachers  must  be 
up  to  the  level  of  their  hearers  or  lose  credit.  I 
doubt  not  there  is  much  truth  in  all  this,  and  on 
this  point  I  have  these  remarks  to  make : 

1.  No  one  desires  that  preachers  should  be 
educated  more  than  I  do.    Let  it  be  done  as  far 
as  possible.    Let  the  Church  tax  her  resources  to 
the  uttermost.    Let  us  have  a  theological  school. 
Let  us  have  a  chair  of  divinity  in  our  colleges, 
where  it  can  be  done. 

2.  But  when  the  utmost  has  deen  done  we  will 
not  turn  out  educated  men  as  fast  as  the  demands 
of  the  work  will  require. 

3.  Large  classes  of  men  will  always  be  found 
to  whom  men  of  good  sense,  though  not  highly 


56  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

educated,  will  be  acceptable;  more  acceptable 
than  the  learned  man,  if  he  have  the  air  of  a 
pedant. 

4.  Many  men  in  the  Church  now  who  are  in 
demand  in  the  very  best  and  most  cultivated 
communities  are  such  as  have  had  no  early  ad- 
vantages beyond  the  common  school. 

C.  The  college  will  not  make  a  brilliant,  attrac- 
tive man  of  a  naturally  dull  one.  Many  educated 
men  never  become  acceptable  preachers.  If  a 
man  has  no  "gift,"  no  training  can  give  it  to 
him.  Mv  conviction  is,  that  if  a  man  does  not 

•/ 

become  a  respectable  public  speaker  on  the  basis 
of  a  fair  English  education,  he  would  never  do  so 
with  all  the  help  in  the  world.  You  must  have 
the  "  timber  "  to  begin  with. 

6.  I  apprehend  that  exaggerated  hopes  are  en- 
tertained of  the  results  of  a  college  course.    Yet 
I  do  not  deprecate  the  present  agitation  of  the 
subject.     Good  will  come  of  it — has  already  come 
of  it.    But  brethren  will  be  disappointed  in  many 
of  the  young  men  that  will  come  to  their  pulpits 
out  of  the  colleges. 

7.  I  should  deplore  most  deeply  any  legisla- 
tion that  would  make  a  liberal  education  a  con- 
dition of  membership  in  the  Annual  Conferences. 
The  hand  of  God  will  be  on  many  a  man  who  can 
never  take  a  classical  course.    I  am  not  sure  but 
some  men — very  useful  men,  too  —  whom  I  have 


LIFE     OF     CAP  LES.  57 

known,  would  have  "been  spoiled  by  any  attempt 
of  the  sort.  I  am  almost  tempted  to  give  names. 
H.  S.  Watts  will  pardon  me  for  writing  his. 

8.  If  in  any  measure  Methodist  preachers  lose 
their  simplicity  through  affectation  of  learning,  it 
will  be  a  black  day  for  us.  If  ever  geometry  and 
Greek,  "the  objective  and  the  subjective,"  come 
to  reduce  our  estimate  of  personal  holiness  as  the 
prime  condition  of  a  truly  useful  ministry,  we 
may  write  "Ichabod"  upon  our  altars — for  Meth- 
odism will  be  dead. 

There  is  in  some  places  an  actual  vice,  which 
may  properly  be  denominated  a  lust  for  fine 
preaching.  Men  go  to  church  from  very  much 
the  same  motive  that  takes  them  to  the  theatre  — • 
not  to  be  edified,  but  to  enjoy  fine  declamation. 

For  these  reasons  it  behooves  our  colleges  to 
maintain  a  high  order  of  Christian  life.  Let  the 
young  men  being  formed  for  the  ministry  be 
made  constantly  to  feel  that  our  great  qualifica- 
tion is  a  holy  life  —  a  faith  that  gives  men  power 
with  God,  and  a  depth  of  spiritual  experience 
that  gives  power  with  men,  and  that  all  their 
knowledge  is  mere  chaff  if  the  kernel  of  holiness 
be  not  in  it. 

There  is  danger  that  preaching  may  become  too 
scholastic,  that  the  pulpit  in  the  pride  of  learn- 
ing may  displace  the  Cross  by  other  themes ;  or  if 
the  Cross  be  not  displaced,  the  egotism  of  knowl- 


58  L1FEOFCAPLES. 

edge  and  of  display  may  hide  it  by  a  heavy 
drapery  of  alien  matter.  The  profoundest  phi- 
losophy, the  most  consummate  knowledge,  is  an 
impertinence,  a  shame,  a  crime,  in  the  pnlpit,  if 
it  shade  Christ.  Only  when  it  pronounces  that 
Name,  adoring,  trembling  —  only  when  it  gives  a 
deeper,  fuller  utterance  of  that  Name  is  it  of  the 
slightest  value. 

Preaching  is  nothing  —  worse  than  nothing — it 
is  a  mockery  —  if  it  does  not  bring  men  to  the 
cross.  All  we  know  must  be  felt  to  be  of  use 
only  as  it  helps  us  to  get  God's  truth  before  the 
eyes  and  into  the  ears  and  hearts  of  men. 


LIFEOFCAPLES  59 


CHAPTER  V. 


OAST   DOWN   BUT  NOT  DESTROYED. 

In  the  fall  of  1839  Mr.  Caples  was  received  on 
trial  into  the  Missouri  Conference.  In  a  brief 
diary  which  he  kept  the  last  year  of  his  life  I  find 
the  following  outline  of  the  work  he  did : 

"  November  2,  1863. — I  this  day  enter  upon  the 
duties  of  Glasgow  station.  Eighteen  years  ago  I 
was  appointed  to  this  station  by  Bishop  Soule. 
Prior  to  this- 1  had  traveled,  first  Plattsburg  cir- 
cuit in  1839-10,  then  Weston  circuit  in  1840-41. 
At  the  close  of  this  year  I  was  in  debt,  having 
received  the  first  year  $47,  and  the  second  $105. 
I  cut  cord  wood  during  two  or  three  months,  paid 
off  my  debts,  and  in  April  was  appointed  by 
Wm.  ~W.  Redman,  Presiding  Elder,  to  the  Keytes- 
ville  circuit,  which  I  traveled  until  Conference, 
last  of  August,  at  Jefferson  City.  Bishop  Roberts 
appointed  me  to  Keytesville  again.  The  two  fol- 
lowing years  I  traveled  the  Huntsville  circuit. 
Then  two  in  this  station.  Then  two  in  Brunswick 


00  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

station.  Then  two  in  Hannibal  station.  Then 
four  on  the  Weston  district  Then  one  in  Weston 
station  and  High  School.  Then  two  as  agent  of 
Central  College.  Then  one  on  Fayette  district. 
Then  one  in  Brunswick  station.  Then  three  on 
Brunswick  district,  and  am  now  again  appointed 
to  this  station." 

When  he  entered  the  Conference  he  had  a  small 
family,  for  the  support  of  which  he  received,  as 
stated  above,  forty-seven  dollars  the  first  year, 
and  one  hundred  and  five  the  second.  Without 
private  resources,  he  found  himself  at  the  close 
of  the  second  year  in  debt.  Of  course,  a  family 
could  not  subsist,  by  any  miracle  of  economy,  on 
this  amount.  Debt,  or  actual  starvation,  was  the 
inevitable  alternative  A  man  can  not  see  his 
family  perish.  The  consequence  was  debt,  and  to 
him  this  was  intolerable. 

* 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  from  the  very 
first  he  was  more  than  acceptable  as  a  preacher. 
Indeed,  as  Judge  James  II.  Birch,  of  Plattsburg, 
informs  me,  there  are  still  traditions  of  his  won- 
derful power  as  a  preacher  there  in  the  first  year 
of  his  ministry.  Even  then  he  was  an  able  min- 
ister of  the  New  Testament,  capable  of  defending 
the  doctrines  of  his  Church  so  as  to  put  opposi- 
tion and  controversy  to  silence.  An  attack  made 
upon  him  by  a  party  given  to  controversy  pro- 
voked a  reply  which  was  so  triumphant  as  to  end 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  61 

the  matter  at  once.  From  the  time  he  first  made 
his  appearance  in  the  Platte  country  he  was  the 
object  of  admiration  above  any  other  man.  The 
meagreness  of  his  support  is  not  to  be  accounted 
for  on  the  ground  of  any  opposition  to  him,  nor 
any  want  of  zeal  or  industry  on  his  part.  The 
people  gave  him  more,  I  imagine,  than  they  would 
have  given  most  men.  But  the  country  was  new, 
money  was  scarce,  and  the  people  had  not  been 
trained  to  just  views  of  duty  in  this  matter. 
"Want  of  ability  goes  far  to  explain  the  fact.  The 
first  settlers  of  a  country,  for  some  years,  are 
straitened  in  their  means.  All  they  can  command 
must  go  to  the  most  necessary  improvements. 
The  fruits  of  industry  are  swallowed  up  in  sub- 
duing the  wilderness,  building  houses  and  getting 
ready  to  live.  Both  in  the  Plattsburg  and  Westori 
circuits  this  was  the  condition  of  things  when 
Caples  traveled  them.  No  man  had  a  dollar  for 
which  there  was  not  immediate  and  pressing  use 
in  his  own  affairs. 

Yet  an  enlightened  conscience  in  the  Church 
would  have  turned  an  amount  'to  Christian  uses 
sufficient,  at  least,  to  keep  the  preacher's  family 
above  want.  Intelligent  faith  would  have  seen  in 
Christian  agencies  a  prime  necessity.  But  this 
high  ground  had  not  been  reached  by  the  Church. 
So  this  preacher,  popular  as  he  was,  was  starved 
out. 


62  LIFEOFOAPLES. 

Nor  was  there  any  prospect  of  a  better  state  of 
things  the  next  year.  If  he  should  get  a  circuit 
for  the  next  year  on  which  he  would  obtain  suffi- 
cient support,  there  would  be  nothing  over  to 
pay  debts.  To  him  debt,  where  there  was  no 
prospect  of  paying,  was  intolerable.  His  sense 
of  honor  was  acute.  His  character  before  the 
world  was  at  stake.  What  was  more  sacred  still, 
his  integrity,  was  at  stake.  He  might  afford  to 
sacrifice  the  respect  of  others,  but  there  was  self- 
respect.  Without  that  he  could  not  be  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel.  Without  that,  to  a  man  like  him, 
existence  itself  would  have  been  insupportable. 

He  never  hesitated  long  about  anything.  On 
the  contrary,  he  was  a  most  decided  sort  of  man. 
He  always  took  his  measures  promptly.  So  now 
he  resolved  to  ask  to  be  discontinued.  This  was 
accordingly  done.  Just  when  his  probationary 
term  expired,  and  his  connection  with  the  Con- 
ference ought  to  have  been  consummated,  his 
name  disappeared  from  the  list  of  appointments. 
It  was  his  purpose  at  the  time  never  again  to  take 
work  as  a  traveling  preacher.  So  he  himself 
afterward  declared. 

Here,  then,  he  stood  face  to  face  with  the  world 
and  with — poverty.  Without  any  property,  with- 
out a  dollar,  he  was  in  debt.  Now,  what  was  he 
to  do  ?  He  had  studied  law,  but  had  never  been 
in  the  practice.  It  would  require  time  to  get  into 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  63 

professional  business.  His  case  was  exigent  and 
required  instant  relief.  Bread,  daily  bread,  it 
must  be  had,  and  that  without  delay.  Hunger 
never  waits  on  a  perplexed  man  long.  It  never 
defers  to  embarrassing  situations.  It  has  not  the 
delicacy  to  wait  awhile  and  see  if  "  something 
will  turn  up." 

Well,  there  was  one  opening.  Cord  wood  was 
in  demand,  and  at  a  good  price.  As  has  been 
already  said,  he  was  not  a  man  to  hesitate.  He 
never  belonged  to  the  class  of  animals  that  will 
starve  to  death  between  two  piles  of  hay.  Here 
was  money  to  be  had  for  work,  and  here  was 
muscle.  He  cut  cord  wood. 

I  give  no  incident  of  his  life  with  greater  satis- 
faction than  this.  It  does  honor  to  his  head  and 
heart  alike.  He  was  too  great  a  man  to  be  whining 
around  in  a  helpless  way,  with  the  tone  of  an  in- 
jured man,  waiting  for  some  gentlemanly  employ- 
ment. He  would  invoke  no  sympathy.  He  would 
not  parade  his  wants.  With  God  to  help  him  he 
would  help  himself. 

•  Which  is  the  more  honorable,  to  cut  cord  wood 
or  leave  debts  unpaid — to  defraud  creditors  of 
their  due  ?  Which  is  the  more  honorable,  to  cut 
cord  wood  or  to  whimper  around,  make  new  debts, 
and  wait  for  something  to  turn  up  ?  Caples  cut 
cord  wood.  I  thank  him  for  it.  I  can  see  him 
now  in  the  heavy  timber  of  the  Missouri  river 


64  LIFEOFCAPLE8. 

bottom,  above  Weston,  with  his  coat  off,  spurning 
the  snow  with  heavy  boots,  and  swinging  the  ax 
from  dawn  to  dusk,  in  the  short  days  of  that 
memorable  winter  of  '41-'"42.  I  can  see  his  open, 
honest  face  as  he  carries  one  instalment  after  an- 
other to  his  creditors.  He  lived  close,  labor  was 
remunerative,  his  debts  were  small,  and  by  mid- 
winter he  was  free.  By  the  first  of  February  no 
man  in  Weston  would  have  hesitated  to  loan  him 
money,  for  he  had  proved  himself  an  honest  man. 
His  was  not  that  sort  of  honesty  that  is  glad 
enough  to  pay  if  it  may  be  convenient,  but  that 
other  sort  that  will  pay,  whether  it  be  convenient 
or  not. 

My  recollection  is  that,  before  the  winter  was 
over,  Wentworth  employed  him  as  a  clerk  in  his 
store  in  Weston.  But  he  did  not  remain  there 
long.  One  thing  had  become  evident  on  all  sides, 
that  he  could  not  only  make  a  living,  but  make 
money.  With  no  untoward  providence  he  would 
have  been  as  likely  to  make  a  fortune  as  any  man 
in  Platte  county.  This  he  felt.  The  force  was  in 
him,  and  so  was  the  mother  wit. 

In  the  face  of  all  this,  in  the  face  of  his  own 
deliberate  purpose  only  six  months  gone,  and  with 
a  wife  to  whom  poverty  was  most  grinding  and 
unwelcome — a  wife,  too,  whom  he  cherished  with 
uncommon  tenderness — whose  feelings  and  views 
he  treated  with  the  utmost  delicacy  and  deference 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  65 

in  every  other  matter,  in  April  he  takes  an  ap- 
pointment to  the  Keytesville  circuit  from  the  Pre- 
siding Elder.  Why  this  change  of  purpose  ? 

There  can  be  but  one  single  reply  to  this  ques- 
tion. The  exigency  that  compelled  Mm  to  locate 
was  out  of  the  way.  Keytesville  circuit  lost  its 
preacher  in  the  middle  of  the  year.  It  was  in  an 
older  portion  of  the  country.  The  Church  was 
better  organized  and  better  able  to  support  a 
preacher.  His  expenses  would  be  met,  at  least. 
He  was  in  demand  as  a  preacher.  Even  while  he 
was  local  the  people  would  give  him  no  rest.  He 
was  compelled  to  go  here  and  there  to  meet  inces- 
sant demands.  He  felt  that  the  hand  of  God  was 
on  him.  His  life  must  be  devoted  to  this  work 
or  the  wrath  of  God  would  overtake  him.  The 
wrath  of  God  would  smite  his  family.  Conscience 
uttered  its  imperious  mandate.  Its  voice  was 
obeyed.  AVife  and  children  were  committed  to 
God  again  with  a  faith  purified  and  strengthened 
by  trial.  He  had  been  in  the  crucible  and  came 
out  with  a  deeper,  richer  experience. 

The  circumstances  under  which  he  was  called 
to  the  Keytesville  circuit  were  embarrassing  and 
painful.  The  preacher  who  had  been  appointed 
to  that  circuit  from  the  preceding  session  of  the 
Conference  was  an  Abolitionist.  To  that  the  peo- 
ple did  not  object.  He  was  received  to  their  altars 

and  firesides  with  all   that  affection  habitually 
5 


66       .  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

given  to  their  pastors.  He  greeted  his  dear 
brethren,  slaveholders  as  they  were,  with  a  cordial 
manner,  encouraged  their  faith  in  the  class-meet- 
ing and  made  long  prayers  for  their  prosperity  in 
the  family  circle.  He  came  and  went  about  their 
houses  as  an  honored  guest,  a  pastor  and  a  friend. 
After  a  time  the  negroes  began  to  report  to  their 
masters  that  the  preacher  was  persuading  them 
to  run  away,  and  offering  to  assist  them  in  doing 
so.  Thus  had  he,  in  the  guise  of  a  Christian  pas- 
tor, and  accepting  their  hospitalities,  betrayed 
them.  More  than  this,  he  was  guilty  of  a  crime, 
infamous  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  and  exposing 
him  to  the  degradation  of  a  term  in  the  peniten- 
tiary. His  crime  having  become  public  he  fled. 
But  the  odium  remained.  Methodist  preachers 
were  suspected  men.  It  had  been  demonstrated 
that  one  of  them  could  smile  at  your  table  and 
talk  piety  as  a  friend,  and  at  the  same  time,  taking 
advantage  of  your  confidence,  tamper  with  your 
servants. 

The  Presiding  Elder  at  once  selected  Caples  as 
the  man  to  meet  the  emergency.  His  popular 
address,  his  pulpit  power  and  the  high  tone  of  his 
character  would  restore  confidence.  The  selection 
was  a  most  happy  one.  Before  the  year  closed 
the  fair  name  of  the  Church  had  been  redeemed. 
Those  old  Missourians  were  a  most  generous  and 
confiding  class.  Honorable  themselves,  it  was 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  67 

unnatural  to  them  to  be  suspicious  of  others. 
Especially  would  such  a  candid,  open  nature  as 
Caples'  win  them  at  once.  After  his  first  round 
the  recent  troubles  began  to  be  forgotten,  and  he 
was  at  once  enthroned  over  the  affections  of  the 
Church  and  the  confidence  of  the  public.  It  was 
felt  that  the  perfidy  of  one  man  could  not  be 
justly  charged  upon  a  whole  class.  After  Caples, 
Methodist  preachers  were  at  par,  or  above,  in 
Chariton  county. 

At  the  next  session  he  was  admitted  into  the 
Conference  on  trial  a  second  time  and  returned  to 
the  Ke3rtesville  circuit.  At  the  close  of  this  year 
he  had  been  traveling  actually  three  years  and  a 
half,  but  the  irregularity  involved  in  his  discon- 
tinuance had  caused  the  delay  of  his  election  to 
Deacon's  orders,  so  that  he  was  not  yet  ordained. 
Even  now  he  was,  technically,  only  in  the  class 
of  the  first  year,  and  therefore  ineligible  as  a 
traveling  preacher.  But  he  had  been  preaching 
four  years,  and  the  President  of  the  Conference 
allowed  him  to  be  presented  for  orders  under  the 
law  governing  the  ordination  of  local  preachers. 

At  this  point  occurred  an  incident  which  he  felt 
most  keenly.  Indeed,  I  think  nothing  ever  morti- 
fied him  so  much.  His  election  was  opposed  and 
defeated.  Rev.  N.  M.  Talbot,  as  true  a  man  as 
the  Church  has  ever  had,  objected  to  his  ordina- 
tion, on  the  ground  of  extreme  levity.  He  spoke 


68  LIFEOFOAPLE8. 

at  some  length  and  urged  the  objection  strongly. 
There  was  not  that  gravity,  he  said,  which  became 
a  Deacon  in  the  Church  of  God.  He  did  not  him- 
self mind  a  joke  now  and  then ;  in  fact  he  rather 
enjoyed  it,  and  thought  a  hearty  laugh  once  in  a 
while  innocent  enough.  But  this  young  man  was 
at  it  all  the  time.  It  was  incessant.  His  jests 
were  often  irreverent,  if  not  actually  profane.  The 
Most  Holy  Name  would  be  used  to  give  pith  and 
poignancy  to  his  wit.  In  the  pulpit  he  was  great. 
He  had  few  equals  there.  But  out  of  the  pulpit 
he  ruined  all.  The  brother,  he  continued,  was  like 
the  cow  that  gave  the  bucket  full  of  the  richest 
milk  and  then  kicked  it  over. 

Whether  the  application  was  withdrawn  or 
voted  on  and  defeated,  I  do  not  now  remember. 
At  any  rate  he  was  not  ordained  at  that  time, 
and  always  blamed  Uncle  Nat  for  the  failure. 
Dating,  however,  from  his  last  admission  on  trial 
he  graduated  in  due  course  to  deacon's  and  eld- 
er's orders. 

I  plead  guilty  to  the  enthusiasm  of  a  friend  in 
writing  of  my  brother  Caples.  But  I  can  not  con- 
sent to  play  the  part  of  an  Indiscriminate  eulogist. 
There  was  ground  for  brother  Talbot's  censure  of 
him.  He  was  a  man  of  most  exuberant  spirits. 
His  vivacity  was  astonishing.  He  saw  a  ludi- 
crous side  to  everything.  Wit  and  humor  gushed 
up  from  a  perennial  fountain,  down  deep  in  his 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  69 

very  "being.  Without  intention  he  would  say  the 
most  laugh-provoking  things.  He  often  went  too 
far.  The  brakes  ought  to  have  been  down,  hard, 
many  a  time  when  they  were  not  down  at  all. 
Sometimes  there  was  a  species  of  recklessness  in 
his  jesting  that  made  me  shudder.  It  seemed 
that  he  would  sacrifice  anything  to  the  triumph 
of  a  first-rate  joke.  I  always  felt  that  he  could 
and  ought  to  have  been  more  temperate  in  this 
respect. 

Yet  there  never  was  a  man  with  whom  I  could 
more  readily  fall  into  the  most  edifyingfconversa- 
tion  on  the  subject  of  religion.  At  the  same  time 
I  feel  it  to  be  due  to  the  truth,  in  writing  an  ac- 
count of  his  life,  that  I  should  record  my  unqual- 
ified disapproval  of  such  excessive  levity.  But 
in  Mm  it  was  less  objectionable  than  in  any  other 
man  I  ever  saw,  because  it  was  so  evidently  of 
his  very  nature  to  be  so. 

He  used  to  say,  facetiously,  that  he  did  try 
once  for  three  weeks  to  be  sober,  like  a  preacher. 
He  wore  his  face  of  an  edifying  length.  At  last 
he  began  to  feel  "the  solemn"  striking  in,  and 
felt  that  it  would  kill  him.  After  that  he  never 
made  the  experiment  again.  It  was  too  danger- 
ous. Thus  jocularly  would  he  put  aside  expostu- 
lation. Reproof  did  no  good.  He  would  turn  it 
aside  so  adroitly  that  the  reprover  himself  would 


70  LIFEOFOAPLES. 

end  in  uproarious  laughter  in  spite  of  the  most 
serious  purpose. 

In  making  missionary  speeches,  and  preaching 
what  he  called  "money  sermons,"  he  gave  full 
play  to  his  wit.  But  the  most  laughable  things 
were  often  such  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the  deep- 
est pathos  that  the  effect  was  rather  hightened 
than  otherwise.  At  any  rate  it  loosened  the 
money  in  a  man's  pocket  most  effectually.  But 
in  his  ordinary  sermons  there  was  not  the  slight- 
est trace  of  it. 

He  had  another  fault — the  use  of  extravagant 
epithets  in  denunciation.  It  was  an  incident  of 
the  decisiveness  of  his  character.  He  saw  every- 
thing in  a  strong  light.  He  could  excuse  the 
foibles  of  a  brother,  but  all  meanness  he  hated 
with  a  perfect  hatred.  He  loathed  it.  His  soul 
poured  itself  out  in  red  hot  invective.  His  vehe- 
mence was  like  Luther's  and  required  strong 
adjectives.  Often  the  man  would  not  be  distin- 
guished from  his  meanness.  It  was  part  of  the 
man.  The  odious  thing  was  not  an  abstraction, 
but  was  actually  here  in  town,  standing  on  two 
legs,  and  showing  its  face  in  the  sun.  It  was  em- 
bodied, and  had  a  name.  He  would  exhaust  a 
whole  arsenal  of  blasting  epithets  upon  it. 

Not  that  it  was  wrong  to  condemn  decisively, 
sharply,  or  point  out  the  infamy  of  an  infamous 
transaction,  and  of  the  author  of  it.  But  there 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  71 

were  occasions  when  he  put  too  much  brimstone 
in.  Where  saltpetre  would  have  been  strong 
enough,  he  used  fulminate  of  mercury.  His  ad- 
jectives were  terrific. 

He  saw  more  in  an  incident  than  any  common 
observer  would,  and  hence  his  anecdotes  seemed 
to  most  of  us  like  exaggerations.  Many  of  his 
statements  had  an  extravagant  air.  Yet  I  am 
sure  that  he  told  the  story  as  he  saw  it.  He  had 
insight  that  others  lacked.  He  saw  below  the 
surface.  Sometimes,  I  doubt  not,  his  imagination 
supplied  features  that  were  not  present.  But  to 
him  they  were  present. 

And,  now,  I  do  verily  believe  I  have  told  the 
whole  story  of  this  man's  faults.  I  am  confident 
that  no  just  censorship  will  add  to  the  catalogue. 
If  there  were  others,  they  were  virtues  in  excess. 

These  that  I  have  mentioned  were  on  the  sur- 
face. They  pained  his  friends,  and  at  times  did 
harm.  They  did  in  some  cases,  as  I  have  reason 
to  believe,  interfere  with  the  effect  of  his  ministry. 
They  were  the  first  things  you  would  see.  They 
invited  attention  and  criticism.  But  those  who 
were  closest  to  him,  and  had  the  deepest  insight 
into  his  character,  saw  that  these  things  were 
incidents  of  natural  temperament  rather  than  ele- 
ments of  moral  character.  There  were  no  covert 
wickednesses  in  the  man.  He  had  no  politic  con- 
cealments of  traits  consciously  evil.  What  was 


72  LIFEOFOAPLES. 

in  him  came  out  freely.  He  was  without  guile. 
After  a  long  acquaintance,  in  the  intimacies  of  a 
close  relation,  you  would  feel  that  all  the  settled 
purposes  of  his  life  were  pure,  all  his  habitual 
aspirations  holy.  To  the  voice  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  his  innermost  soul  gave  a  solemn  response 
and  a  free  allegiance.  The  will  of  God  was  his 
supreme  law. 

Perhaps  it  ought  to  be  said,  in  addition,  that 
these  faults  had  their  ground  in  that  geniality  and 
heartiness  of  nature  which  gave  him  so  great  an 
influence  amongst  men.  Who  was  there  that  did 
not  love  Caples?  Even  when  he  provoked  you, 
you  still  loved  him.  The  very  quality  that  you 
were  tried  with  was  the  outgrowth  of  an  attractive 
trait. 

Baffled  as  he  was,  first  by  want  of  support,  and 
secondly,  by  the  delay  of  his  ordination,  he  was 
all  the  while  gathering  force  for  the  great  part  he 
had  to  perform  in  the  history  of  Missouri  Method- 
ism. If  he  was  cast  down  he  was  not  destroyed. 
From  the  very  fall  he  secured  a  firmer  footing, 
arid  stood  the  more  safely  afterward.  The  mo- 
mentum that  bore  him  forward  was  too  great  to 
be  overcome  by  this  resistance.  The  current  of 
his  spiritual  life  gathered  head  upon  the  obstruc- 
tions until  every  thing  was  swept  before  it.  It 
was  no  feeble  stream  tliat  might  be  arrested  until 
it  would  evaporate  or  be  lost  in  the  sands,  but  a 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  73 

river,  which,  though  checked  for  a  moment,  would 
soon  force  its  way.  Its  volume  was  swelled  by 
the  resistance,  and  went  forward  to  a  larger 
destiny. 

I  have  not  a  doubt  that  his- life  was  better  and 
more  fruitful  from  these  early  embarrassments. 
They  deepened  his  sympathies.  They  enlarged 
his  soul.  They  made  him  a  better  preacher,  a 
better  pastor,  a  better  presiding  elder.  He  could 
enter  into  all  the  perplexities  of  the  preachers.  He 
could  reassure  them  in  the  hour  of  trial  with  a 
more  inspiring  word. 

But  the  period  of  temptation  did  not  end  here — 
I  mean  special  temptation  to  abandon  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  He  has  been  heard  to  say  that 
as  late  as  the  time  of  his  first  term  at  Glasgow 
he  had  a  fearful  conflict  with  himself  on  this 
point.  He  knew  that  in  the  profession  of  the 
Law  he  could  both  rise  to  distinction  and  amass 
wealth.  Year  after  year  the  devil  followed  him 
with  this  temptation.  In  Glasgow,  at  that  time, 
one  of  the  principal  centers  of  business  and  wealth 
in  the  interior  of  the  State,  it  came  upon  him 
with  new  force.  In  this  elegant  society  he  might 
establish  himself  permanently,  and  soon  become 
rich  and  great.  Here  were  personal  admirers 
who  would  throw  a  lucrative  practice  in  his  way. 
He  saw  himself  standing  at  the  threshold  of  the 
temple  of  fortune.  As  he  stood  in  his  poverty 


74  LIFEOFOAPLE8. 

outside,  the  light  and  glory  within  shone  with  ex- 
aggerated splendor.  A  growing  family  demanded 
his  care.  Ought  he  not  to  give  up  this  work  of 
the  Gospel,  in  which  there  would  never  be  more 
than  baie  subsistence,  and  amass  something  for 
his  children  ?  Thus  was  a  bribe  offered  even  to 
his  conscience.  That  stronghold  won,  the  enemy 
would  have  easier  work  at  every  other  point. 
The  defenses  were  not  very  formidable  on  any 
other  part  of  the  line.  For  a  time  he  was  in  sus- 
pense— a  state  of  mind  he  could  not  bear.  He 
resolved  to  end  the  strife. 

For  this  purpose  he  went  alone  into  a  forest 
adjacent  to  the  town.  There  the  matter  was  to 
be  settled  and  then.  He  would  get  an  answer 
from  God  that  should  keep  his  soul  in  rest,  or  fail- 
ing in  that,  from  that  day  the  star  of  fortune 
would  become  his  cynosure. 

The  secret  of  that  day  is  with  him  and  God. 
Only  the  result  is  known.  From  that  time  he 
never  vascillated,  even  in  thought.  lie  conquered 
in  being  conquered.  God  mastered  him,  but  he 
gave  him  His  name,  and  with  that  he  triumphed 
over  all  else. 

What  passed  between  him  and  the  Creator  in 
the  solitude  of  the  forest,  what  felt  shadows  of  the 
world  to  come  were  on  his  soul,  how  he  bowed 
himself  and  opened  himself  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
what  visions  were  given  him,  we  can  only  imag- 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  75 

ine.  One  thing  we  know :  he  rarely  spoke  of  that 
day,  and  never  but  in  the  tone  of  deepest  rev- 
erence. 

I  have  often  thought  it  remarkable  that  any 
such  thing  should  occur  after  all  that  had  gone 
before  in  his  life.  There  had  been  a  first  and 
second  offering  of  himself  to  the  work,  with  the 
utmost  deliberation,  for  he  had  twice  come  into 
the  Conference.  There  was  a  third  when  he  was 
admitted  into  full  connection  and  received  dea- 
con's orders.  There  had  been  a  fourth,  the  most 
solemn  of  all,  when  he  took  the  vows  of  an  Elder 
in  the  Church  of  Gfod.  Yet  there  remained  this 
final  consecration  to  be  made  in  the  depths  of 
consciousnsss  that  had  not  yet  been  reached.  Or, 
if  they  had,  his  polarity  had  been  disturbed  by 
alien  influences  afterward.  There  was  required 
this  awful  interview,  face  to  face  with  God,  to 
restore  fully  the  divine  magnetism.  Thencefor- 
ward there  was  no  perceptible  disturbance.  It 
cost  him  no  effort  at  any  moment  to  say,  "  Get 
thee  behind  me,  Satan."  He  gravitated  toward 
God  and  duty  with  sustained,  undeviating  pur- 
pose, until  he  went  up. 

"  Henceforth  let  no  profane  delight 

Divide  this  consecrated  soul ; 
Possess  it  Thou,  who  hast  the  right, 
As  Lord  and  Master  of  the  whole. " 

Reference  having  been  made  to  Mrs.  Caples' 
repugnance  to  the  life  of  a  preacher,  it  is  proper 


76  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

to  say  that  about  a  year  before  her  death,  at  a 
session  of  the  Conference  in  Glasgow,  in  1847,  she 
became  deeply  concerned  on  the  subject  of  reli- 
gion and  presented  herself  for  prayers.  From 
that  time  she  seemed  reconciled  to  the  calling  of 
her  husband.  The  following  year  they  were  in 
Brunswick.  Near  the  close  of  it  she  died,  having 
been  happily  converted  some  short  time  before 
she  passed  away.  She  was  a  woman  of  most 
decided  character,  and  without  any  experience  of 
the  love  of  God,  it  was  inevitable  that  her  posi- 
tion as  a  preacher's  wife  would  involve  many 
things  distasteful  to  her.  But  she  was  a  true 
wife  and  mother,  a  woman  of  fine  intellect  and 
many  noble  traits  of  character.  If  she  could  have 
lived  after  her  conversion  to  God,  no  doubt  her 
husband's  calling  and  character  would  have  been 
the  joy  of  her  life. 

Nor  can  I  doubt  that  it  was  his  steadfast  devo- 
tion to  his  work  that  led  her  at  last  to  the  foot  of 
the  Cross.  If  he  had  vascillated  both  would,  per- 
haps, have  become  worldly,  and  been  at  last  in- 
volved in  sin  and  destruction.  As  it  was,  she  saw 
that  religion  was  with  him  the  one  great  concern 
of  life,  and  though  she  held  out  against  the  striv- 
ings of  the  Spirit  for  years,  he  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  her  at  last  yield  to  the  supreme 
attractions  of  the  Cross;  and  when  called  to 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  77 

mourn  her  departure  to  the  world  of  spirits  he 
"  sorrowed  not  as  others  who  have  no  hope." 

"When  she  died,  the  light  of  his  life,  so  far  as 
this  world's  pleasures  were  concerned,  went  out. 
It  was  a  sad  hour  when,  returning  from  the  burial 
scene,  he  looked  upon  his  motherless  children. 
But  she  was  with  God.  Already  the  angels  had 
welcomed  the  new-comer  to  the  joys  of  heaven, 
and  she  was  at  home  in  the  midst  of  the  innumer- 
able company  and  Church  of  the  First-born.  He 
was  again  "  cast  down  but  not  destroyed." 

His  second  marriage,  with  Mrs.  Bailey,  of 
Brunswick,  was  in  every  respect  happy.  She 
was  a  true  mother  to  his  children.  She  had  been 
converted  under  his  ministry,  and  married  him  in 
view  of  his  high  calling.  All  its  privations  she 
accepted  with  cheerfulness,  and  even  joy.  With- 
out grudging  she  saw  the  insufficient  support 
of  the  Church  supplemented  out  of  her  own 
resources.  Ever  a  cheerful  presence  in  the  midst 
of  his  household,  she  made  his  home  at  all  times 
a  happy  retreat. 

She  lived  to  share  with  him  the  calamities  of 
the  war  and  to  see  him  die.  After  that  dreadful 
hour,  nerving  herself  to  the  task  of  a  widowed 
mother  without  resources,  she  was  faithful  to  the 
last.  But  the  time  was  short.  Her  Father  in 
heaven  soon  called  her  away  from  over-taxing 
labors  and  anxieties  and  "received  her  into  rest." 


78  LIFEOFCAPLES. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE   PREACHER. 

There  are  many  thousands  of  people  in  Mis- 
souri, who  remember  Mr.  Caples  in  the  pulpit. 
There  are  thousands  whose  character  took  more 
or  less  complexion  from  his  sermons,  thousands 
whose  Christian  life  commenced,  other  thousands 
whose  Christian  life  started  into  new  power,  and 
became  more  elevated  and  intelligent  under  his 
preaching.  A  chapter  may  well  be  devoted  to 
this  one  part  of  his  life.  In  truth,  preaching  con- 
stituted a  large  part  of  his  life  —  the  largest  part, 
perhaps,  I  might  say.  The  man  culminated  in 
the  pulpit.  He  was  great  everywhere  —  greatest 
of  all  here.  Let  us  pause  and  contemplate  him 
as  he  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Missouri  pulpit. 

He  bestowed  no  great  amount  of  labor  in  the 
immediate  preparation  of  sermons.  Some  few  of 
his  sermons  may  be  exceptions  to  this  rule.  Of 
some  sermons  lie  made  brief  notes,  indicating  the 
analysis  of  the  matter;  of  others  he  made  no 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  79 

notes  at  all.  I  think  he  rarely,  if  ever,  took  notes 
into  the  pulpit.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  he  made 
no  preparation  for  the  pulpit.  He  devoted  much 
time  in  this  way,  with  travail  of  soul.  No  mind 
ever  brought  forth  like  his  without  the  pains  of 
parturition.  He  was  all  his  life  engaged  in  this 
work.  Laying  up  and  digesting  matter  for  the 
pulpit  was  a  constant  habit.  He  read  and  often 
conversed  with  reference  to  thisr  There  is  no 
man  living  with  whom  I  have  had  so  many  and 
such  earnest  conversations  on  the  great  themes 
of  religion.  Invariably,  when  we  were  alone  to- 
gether, we  would  drift  into  this  channel.  He  told 
me  once  that  in  talking  with  an  intelligent  friend 
he  often  got  the  deepest  insight  into  spiritual 
truth.  From  other  men's  sermons  he  would  get 
here  and  there  a  thought  in  a  new  attitude.  At 
once  a  whole  theory  would  be  evolved  from  it. 
At  times  he  would  get  a  clew,  and  for  weeks,  at 
every  unoccupied  interval,  he  would  be  threading 
the  labyrinth  of  unexplored  thought  into  and 
through  which  it  led,  and  at  last  come  out  with 
matter  for  from  one  to  a  dozen  sermons. 

To  reduce  the  mass  —  to  bring  the  chaos  into 
shape  —  never  cost  him  the  labor  it  does  most  of 
us.  The  crude  matter  once  in  hand,  the  greater 
and  lesser  lights,  standing  in  their  appointed 
places  in  the  heavens,  would  soon  blaze  forth  on 
sea  and  dry  land,  each  crowded  with  its  own  ap- 


80  LIFEOFOAPLES. 

propriate  population.  The  real  labor  was  in  the 
creation ;  all  that  came  after  was  little  more  than 
re-creation,  and,  as  I  have  good  reason  to  believe, 
was  often  —  not  always  —  left  to  be  done  in  the 
pulpit.  He  would  at  any  moment  block  off  a 
section  of  the  mass,  knead  it  and  shape  it  into  a 
world,  and  populate  it  with  the  living  forms  of 
truth,  coming  and  going  upon  their  errands  and 
sweeping  forward  to  their  destinies.  What  worlds 
they  were  sometimes !  They  were  never  just  mere 
mechanical  structures.  Living  things  innumer- 
able were  in  them.  They  were  all  aglow  with  the 
divine  splendor  of  truth. 

He  never  announced  the  "heads"  of  his  ser- 
mon. Such  an  announcement,  proper  as  it  often 
is,  would  have  been  out  of  place  in  his  preaching. 
Generally  his  sermons  were  evolved,  each  one  out 
of  a  single  thought.-  Everything  had  direct  rela- 
tion to  a  common  point.  But  it  was  not  a  mechan- 
ical relation,  it  was  vital.  His  sermons  were  not 
built,  they  grew.  He  could  not  announce,  there- 
fore, beforehand  so  much  stone  for  the  founda- 
tion, so  much  lumber  for  frame  and  flooring,  so 
much  glass  and  so  many  pounds  of  nails  —  the 
painting  and  finish  to  come  last.  The  whole  tree 
is  in  the  acorn,  but  you  can't  well  bring  it  under 
the  square  and  compass  while  it  remains  there. 
Such  were  Caples'  sermons  while  yet  they  were 
in  his  own  mind.  Each  one  was  all  there  before 


LIFEOFCAP.LES.  81 

it  was  delivered,  but  in  a  germinal  form.  It  was 
impossible  to  tell  beforehand  the  exact  shape 
this  intellectual  oak  would  develop  into;  how 
high  the  shaft  might  rise  before  the  first  great 
branches  would  start  out,  or  how  heavy  the  top 
might  be ;  how  rich  the  foliage  or  how  abundant 
the  acorns.  You  _  might  predict,  safely,  a  big 
tree,  of  fine  symmetry,  perfect  of  its  kind ;  but  it 
would  be  the  symmetry  of  a  tree,  not  of  a  statue. 
His  mind  was  a  forest,  not  a  gallery  of  art.  It 
was  large,  free,  vital.  Order  there  was,  but  of 
the  sort  that  allows  striking,  surprising  varia- 
tion ;  so  large  in  conception  that  many  a  grand, 
but  not  unmeaning  divergence  might  find  scope 
within  its  lines. 

I  remember  he  told  me  once  that  he  had  two 
reasons  for  not  announcing  his  analysis  before- 
hand. One  was,  that  such  announcement  would 
put  the  sermon  into  a  straight-jacket.  He  wanted 
liberty.  His  mind  did  not  work  well  under  the 
constraint  of  inflexible  lines.  The  other  was,  that 
he  thought  the  effect  better  if  every  new  point 
reached  in  the  progress  of  thought  should  take 
the  hearer  by  surprise.  The  sudden  discovery  of 
an  old  thought  in  new  relations,  giving  it  a  new 
significance,  would  at  once  delight  and  edify. 

Often  a  sermon  was  just  a  mere  elaboration  of 
his  text,  taking  up,  point  by  point,  the  matter  of 

the  text,  in  the  order  in  which  he  found  it.     Still 
6 


82  LIF^OFCAPLES. 

what  has  been  said  was,  in  the  main,  true  even 
of  that  class  of  his  sermons.  One  of  these  he 
preached  in  the  Centenary  Church,  St.  Louis,  two 
or  three  years  before  the  war,  from  Phil.  ii.  15, 
16 :  "  That  ye  may  be  blameless  and  harmless, 
the  sons  of  God,  without  rebuke,  in  the  midst  of 
a  crooked  and  perverse  nation,  among  whom  ye 
shine  as  lights  in  the  world,  holding  forth  the 
word  of  life."  I  remember  that  the  sermon  pro- 
duced a  deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  the 
young  men  of  the  Church,  with  whom  I  was  at 
that  time  in  very  intimate  relations.  He  gathered 
up  all  the  points  in  the  text,  somewhat  leisurely, 
and  no  one  saw  the  underlying  thought  which 
was  the  basis  of  unity  in  the  discourse,  until  at 
last,  in  a  few  striking  statements,  everything  that 
had  gone  before  was  made  to  re-appear  in  the  last 
clause  of  the  text,  ''holding  forth  the  word  of 
life."  The  import  of  the  whole  passage  was 
brought  into  this  clause,  until  every  syllable 
seemed  bursting  with  the  truth  that  was  in  it, 
and  you  could  almost  see  flames  and  tongues  of 
fire  breaking  out  through  every  crack. 

He  never  followed  beaten  ways  in  his  preaching. 
"When  you  went  to  hear  him  you  knew  you  were 
not  just  going  to  hear  the  same  old  thing  that  you 
had  been  hearing  all  your  life,  in  the  same  old 
way.  The  same  old  thing  it  would  be,  indeed — 
just  the  gospel ;  nothing  else — but  with  what  new 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  83 

life  and  power !  His  mind  was  too  big  to  get  into 
a  rut — too  broad.  Nothing  is  capable  of  greater 
variety  of  statement  and  illustration  than  the 
simple  doctrines  of  the  Cross.  Nothing  else  that 
can  be  stated  in  so  small  a  compass  contains  so 
much  matter.  Why,  if  a  man  had  the  insight  he 
could  talk  about  Christ  and  His  Salvation  forever, 
without  repetition.  There  is  no  excuse  for  want 
of  variety  in  preaching,  unless  it  may  come  of 
mere  irremediable  dullness.  If  it  does  not  come 
of  that  it  comes  Of  what  is  infinitely  worse — lazi- 
ness. Caples  would  have  preached  in  the  same 
house  all  his  life  and  kept  his  congregation  alive 
with  expectation  of  something  fresh  to  the  last. 

His  style  was  elevated,  but  not  without  faults. 
It  was  not  what  it  would  have  been  if  it  had  been 
formed  under  good  tuition  in  boyhood.  His  chief 
defect  was  an  occasional  want  of  precision  in  the 
use  of  words.  This  was  not  so  glaring  as  to 
attract  notice  of  any  but  men  of  literary  tastes. 
The  common  run  of  hearers  would  never  think 
of  it.  Sometimes  his  sentences  would  be  quite 
clumsy.  Yet,  I  must  add,  it  was  not  an  offensive 
sort  of  clumsiness.  They  had  a  look  as  if  they 
had  a  right  to  be  awkward. 

These  defects,  however,  disappeared  when  he 
became  fairly  enlisted.  When  his  mind  was  a 
little  heavy  at  the  outset,  or  when  he  "made  a 
failure,"  as  he  did  sometimes — not  often — they 


84  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

were  very  noticeable.  But  when  he  was  well 
sprung,  every  tiling  was  transformed.  There  was 
no  want  of  precision  then,  nothing  was  clumsy. 
The  word  suited  the  thought,  and  the  thought 
seemed  as  if  it  might  have  been  fresh-born  out 
of  a  celestial  brain.  Yet  it  was. not  beauty  that 
you  would  predicate  of  his  style,  even  in  its  best 
estate.  It  was  grandeur.  It  was  not  the  flash 
and  polish  of  the  diamond,  but  the  play  of  chain- 
lightning  in  black  tempests. 

His  sermons  were  not  ornate,  nor  yet  were  they 
destitute  of  ornament.  It  was  not,  however,  the 
adornment  of  gorgeous  drapery,  hung  loosely 
about  them ;  it  was  carved  into  their  substance— 
or  rather,  it  was  of  the  very  essence  of  them.  He 
never  went  about  hunting  up  line  things,  but  a 
gorgeous  efflorescence  would  often  appear  on  the 
high  branches  of  the  goodly  tree. 

I  have  witnessed  greater  effects  under  his  preach- 
ing than  under  that  of  any  other  man.  In  1851 
there  was  a  camp  meeting  at  Thrasher's  Chapel, 
in  Marion  county.  The  Hannibal  and  Palmyra 
stations  and  Hydesburg  circuit  united  in  it.  It 
was  commenced  on  Friday,  and  we  intended  to 
close  it  on  the  next  Wednesday.  But  a  revival 
of  such  extent  sprang  up  that  it  was  protracted 
over  the  second  Sunday.  Next  to  the  conversion 
of  souls,  Caples"  preaching  was  the  great  feature 
of  the  meeting,  lie  preached  in  the  morning  on 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  85 

botli  Sundays.  The  crowds  were  immense.  But 
wlien  Caples  rose  every  straggler  came  in,  and  a 
hush  settled  upon  the  whole  scene  that  was  almost 
oppressive.  I  felt  the  silence.  On  the  second 
Sunday  his  text  was  the  CX.  Psalm.  The  theme 
was  the  inauguration  and  triumphs  of  the  Son  of 
God.  It  was  no  mere  declamation.  It  was  all 
thought.  The  speculative  and  the  practical  were 
combined.  Christ  wielding  the  resources  of  the 
universe  in  the  interest  of  his  kingdom,  man  re- 
deemed, cleansed,  exalted,  glorified ;  and  the  issue 
of  the  sublime  movement  when  the  kingdom  shall 
be  delivered  up  to  God,  even  the  Father — this  is 
the  outline.  I  will  attempt  no  description ;  but 
three  thousand  immortal  spirits  will  carry  the 
memory  of  it  into  the  eternal  world.  Toward  the 
close,  every  sentence  was  a  shell,  which,  on  reach- 
ing its  objective  point,  exploded.  The  "slain  of 
the  Lord"  were  many.  There  could  not  have 
been  one  who  escaped  unwounded.  Many  who 
resisted  the  Spirit  that  day  have  gone  into  eter- 
nity, and  others  still  carry  their  scars. 

In  the  pulpit  his  manner  and  speech  were  uni- 
formly grave — often  solemn — as  became  the  great 
matter  of  which  he  treated.  That  wit,  which  was 
of  his  very  nature,  and  which  was  so  freely  in- 
dulged in  social  life  and  in  public  speeches  on 
ordinary  occasions,  even  in  Missionary  meetings, 


86  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

was  never  suffered  to  appear  there.  He  felt  that 
it  was  incongruous  with  that  sacred  place. 

Many  extensive  revivals  attended  his  labors.  I 
was  with  him  in  several.  In  1849-'50,  while  I  was 
on  the  Monticello  circuit,  I  had  an  appointment 
in  Quincy,  111.  I  went  there  under  the  direction 
of  my  Presiding  Elder,  Rev.  Jacob  Lanius.  He 
held  that  the  Church  North  having  violated 
the  covenant  of  separation,  we  were  not  bound  by 
it.  A  society  of  twenty-five  members  having  been 
organized  there,  I  was  directed  to  take  it  into  my 
circuit.  My  congregations  were  large  and  serious 
from  the  first.  After  some  months  I  invited  Mr. 
Caples  up  from  Hannibal.  In  a  meeting  of  less 
than  two  weeks  there  were  over  one  hundred  ac- 
cessions to  the  Church,  and  a  greater  number  of 
persons  were  converted.  A  good  many  joined 
other  churches,  though  their  pastors  kept  aloof 
from  us.  I  found  there  that  in  the  altar  he  was 
scarcely  less  effective  than  in  the  pulpit.  His  in- 
struction of  penitents  was  wonderfully  apt  and 
helpful.  One  case  of  a  young  lady  I  still  remem- 
ber. She  was  in  great  distress,  weeping  as  if  her 
heart  fvould  break.  Brother  C.,  approaching  her, 
heard  her  exclaim  repeatedly,  "0!  my  Savior!" 
"  Did  you  say  my  Savior  ? "  he  asked.  "  Yes,  sir." 
"  Is  He  your  Savior  ? "  To  this  point  he  held  her 
mind  until  she  found  peace  in  believing. 

As  a  preacher  he  was  sound,  "  in  doctrine  show- 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  87 

ing  uncorruptness."  He  would  hear  to  no  im- 
provement of  Watson.  Evangelical  Arminianism 
was  with  him  the  very  truth  of  God.  Calvinism 
on  one  hand  and  Pelagianism  on  the  other  he 
held  to  be  equally  false.  By  one  man  sin  came 
into  the  world,  and  all  have  sinned.  But  Christ 
died,  for  all,  and  all  who  will  may  be  saved  through 
Him.  "  That  we  are  justified  by  faith  only  "  was 
to  him  a  most  wholesome  doctrine  and  full  of 
comfort.  The  new  birth  of  the  human  soul  through 
the  immediate  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the 
direct  witness  of  the  Spirit  of  God  with  our  spirit 
that  we  are  accepted  in  the  Beloved,  were  facts 
most  precious  to  our  ascended  brother. 

He  was  given  to  speculation,  and  was  an  adven- 
turous thinker.  But  his  judgment  was  sound,  his 
discrimination  tod  clear  to  allow  any  involvement 
in  heretical  opinions.  He  surveyed  the  field  of 
Christian  theology  too  comprehensively  to  con- 
struct a  little,  perverse  theory  in  conflict  with  the 
scope  of  doctrine  given  in  Holy  Scripture.  Many 
a  man  who  has  a  crotchet  and  thinks  himself  wiser 
than  the  fathers,  if  he  only  had  half  of  Caples' 
breadth,  would  find  that  his  knowing  so  little  is 
the  secret  of  his  thinking  that  He  knows  so  much. 
Men  sometimes  construct  theories  from  a  small 
portion  of  the  entire  data,  and  are  over-bold  be- 
cause they  do  not  see  the  other  side  of  the  case. 
They  have  this,  plus  that,  which  gives  a  grand 


88  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

result.  They  are  so  full  of  this,  so  proud  of  having 
discovered  it,  that  off  they  go,  shouting  Eureka, 
like  one  possessed,  never  suspecting  that  they 
have  stopped  in  the  midst  of  the  process,  and  are 
in  fact  far  from  the  solution.  A  great,  well-poised 
mind  like  Caples'  has  almost  intuitive  perception 
of  the  missing  factors,  and  sees  that  all  truth  is  not 
reached  in  this  summary  way— just  by  putting  two 
and  two  together.  There  is  a  world  of  multiplying 
and  dividing  and  subtracting,  with  taking  of  angles 
and  dimensions,  to  be  done  before  the  goal  of  inves- 
tigation is  reached.  At  last,  having  gone  down  to 
the  foundation,  he  finds  that  there  was  wisdom  in 
the  world  before  he  was  born,  and  that  Watson  and 
Wesley  held  their  beliefs,  not  because  they  had 
not  seen  these  wonderful  depths  which  some  of  us 
are  so  proud  of  having  fathomed,  but  because 
they  knew  how  very  shallow  these  depths  are. 

The  purity  of  Christian  doctrine  was  held  by 
Mr.  Caples  as  of  vital  consequence.  His  vow  as 
an  Elder  in  the  Church  of  God  bound  him  by 
solemnities  equal  to  an  oath  to  banish  and  drive 
out  erroneous  and  strange  doctrines.  Toward 
error  his  attitude  could  not  be  that  of  neutrality. 
Nor  could  he  s*tand  merely  on  the  defensive. 
Error  in  vital  doctrines  was  fatal.  He  must  attack 
it.  The  great  danger  of  our  day  he  considered  to 
be,  Sacramentarianism  and  Ritualism.  They 
are  acceptable  to  the  carnal  mind.  If  a  man  may 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  89 

attain  salvation  through  the  rites  of  religion,  it  is, 
indeed,  an  easy  process.  The  sinner  may  be  ex- 
pected to  receive  with  facility  a  system  which 
might  properly  be  entitled,  "  Salvation  made 
easy."  The  dreadful  fruit  of  all  this  is  the  carnal 
security  of  countless  millions  who  live  unregene- 
rate,  die  in  a  false  hope,  and  drop  out  of  the 
Church  into  an  unexpected  hell. 

His  preaching  was  largely  doctrinal.  He  not 
only  maintained  the  true  doctrine,  but  pointed 
out  the  antagonistic  error.  This  involved  him 
sometimes  in  controversy,  which  he  did  not 
court — nor  yet  shun.  He  had  two  public  debates : 
one  at  Hannibal,  with  Dr.  Hopson,  of  the  Camp- 
bellite  Church ;  and  one  at  Brunswick,  with  Elder 
Moses  E.  Lard,  of  the  same  sect.  At  the  former 
of  these  I  was  present.  It  afforded  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity of  studying  the  man  in  several  particulars. 
The  contrast  of  him  with  his  antagonist  was 
striking.  It  was  the  difference  between  heavy 
ordnance  and  small  arms.  The  big  gun  does 
more  execution  at  one  shot,  the  other  is  quicker 
loaded. 

Dr.  Hobson  was  au  fait  in  minute  verbal  criti- 
cisms He  knew  well  how  to  wield  them  for  pop- 
ular effect.  He  showered,  small  propositions  upon 
the  audience,  numerically  distinguished,  so  as  to 
make  a  formidable  array.  From  what  I  knew  of 
Mr.  Caples'  ready  wit,  his  electrical  quickness 


90  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

in  repartee,  the  flash  and  spring  of  his  mind  in 
emergencies,  I  had  expected  him  to  show  great 
dexterity  in  this  by-play  of  sophistries.  On  the 
contrary,  he  seemed  to  have  no  taste  for  small 
verbal  criticisms,  and  really  no  skill  in  them.  Of 
the  dexterously  paraded  sophisms  he  took  little 
or  no  notice,  except  now  and  then  to  ridicule- 
not  to  answer  them.  One  instance  of  this  I 
remember.  The  Doctor  announced,  with  great 
solemnity  and  formality,  a  grand  rule — his  audi- 
tors were  at  liberty  to  call  it  a  rule  of  grammar, 
of  logic  or  of  rhetoric — he  was  not  particular 
about  that — but  it  was  a  rule  decisive  of  the  con- 
troversy. After  due  flourish  of  bugles,  the  rule— 
the  grand  discovery  of  Dr.  Hopson — this  miracle 
of  learned  criticism  that  was  to  be  the  last  word 
of  all  dispute,  and  send  the  whole  world  straight 
off  to  the  Jordan,  was  announced,  in  the  terms 
following :  "  An  active  transitive  verb  must  ter- 
minate on  an  object  that  is  capable  of  receiving 
its  action."  "  For  instance,"  he  proceeded,  "  I 
may  say,  I  eat  bread,  because  bread  is  capable 
of  receiving  the  action  of  eating.  But  I  can  not 
say  I  eat  a  stone,  because  a  stone  is  not  capable 
of  receiving  this  action.  I  may  say  with  propriety, 
I  immerse  a  man,  for  a  man  is  capable  of  receiving 
this  action,  but  I  can  not  say  that  I  sprinkle  a 
man,  because  a  man  is  not  capable  of  receiving 
this  action.  I  sprinkle  water,  for  water  is  capable 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  91 

of  receiving  this  action."     This  was  accompanied 
by  significant  gesticulation  with  the  fingers. 

I  called  Caples'  attention  to  the  language  of  the 
Apostle  :  Moses  "  sprinkled  the  book,  and  all  the 
people,"  and  other  like  passages.  But  he  dis- 
dained to  answer  in  any  sober  way  a  sophism  so 
shallow.  He  only  alluded  to  it  jocularly,  saying 
he  would  like  to  see  the  Doctor  try  the  action  of 
eating  on  a  stone.  He  would  find  the  stone  very 
capable  of  receiving  the  action ;  the  only  question 
was,  whether  the  Doctor  was  capable  of  perform- 
ing it. 

In  the  same  debate  his  opponent  stated  sixteen 
propositions,  consecutively,  all  duly  numbered. 
I  wrote  them  all  down  and  offered  the  note  to 
him.  He  paid  no  attention  to  it.  In  his  next 
address  he  stated  one  proposition,  in  few  words, 
that  swept  away  fifteen  of  them,  leaving  one  for- 
lorn little  fellow  standing  by  himself.  There  he 
stood,  and  was  never  noticed. 

At  the  close  of  the  debate  Mr.  Caples,  who  had 
the  closing  argument,  made  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable addresses,  on  the  work  of  the  Spirit, 
that  it  was  ever  my  fortune  to  hear.  No  heart 
was  untouched.  Argument  was  blended  with 
appeal  in  a  torrent  of  eloquence  that  swept  the 
whole  congregation  before  it.  The  old  Methodists 
said,  Amen.  Emotion  was  irrepressible.  Camp- 
bellites  wept,  the  wicked  were  melted,  and  I  felt 


92  LIFEOFCAPLES. 

that  the  word  of  God  had  been  fully  vindicated. 
How  long  he  would  have  gone  on  I  know  not,  but 
the  gavel  announced  the  half  hour  out,  and  he  sat 
down.  Silence  did  homage  for  some  moments  to 
this  sublime  utterance  of  "the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus,"  after  which  Dr.  Hopson  made  a  few  very 
graceful  remarks,  acknowledging  the  Christian 
courtesy  of  his  antagonist  throughout  the  debate. 
This  was  heartily  reciprocated  by  Mr.  C.  The 
whole  congregation  then  sang  the  Long  Metre 
Doxology  to  Old  Hundred,  the  benediction  was 
pronounced,  and  the  congregation  dispersed  as  if 
from  a  solemn  Sabbath  service. 

I  am  indebted  to  Rev.  \V.  M.  Rush  for  the  fol- 
lowing facts  connected  with  his  debate  with  Elder 
Lard,  at  Brunswick : 

Mr.  Lard's  friends  employed  a  stenographer  and 
had  the  debate  taken  down,  intending  to  have  it 
published.  Neither  Mr.  Caples  nor  his  frie'nds 
took  any  part  in  this.  But  after  the  reporter  had 
prepared  the  manuscript,  it  was  courteously  sub- 
mitted to  him  that  he  might  revise  his  part  of  it. 
He  did  so,  and  gave  his  consent  to  the  publication. 

For  some  cause,  I  know  not  what,  the  book 
never  appeared.  Whether  those  who  had  been 
at  the  pains  and  expense  of  having  it  prepared 
for  the  press  concluded  that  it  would  not  advance 
their  cause,  or  feared  that  the  sale  of  it  would  not 
cover  the  cost  of  publication,  I  do  not  know. 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  93 

One  thing  often  struck  me :  the  contrast  of  his 
treatment  of  other  subjects  with  his  treatment  of 
that  of  religion.  In  contests  on  other  matters  he 
did  not  himself  disdain  sophistry  if  he  might  gain 
his  end  by  it.  At  the  Educational  Convention 
in  St.  Louis,  when  the  question  of  the  location  of 
Central  College  was  up,  there  were  but  two  places 
in  nomination — Fayette  and  St.  Charles.  I  ad- 
vocated the  claims  of  St.  Charles.  The  friends 
of  Fayette  did  not  desire  discussion.  Without  it 
they  were  sure  of  their  point.  By  discussion  they 
would  gain  nothing,  but  might  lose  votes.  I  made 
an  elaborate  speech,  expected  a  formal  answer,  and 
was  prepared  for  it.  The  other  party  looked  to 
Mr.  Caples.  lie  met  the  emergency,  not  by  a  reply 
to  the  facts  and  arguments,  but  by  ridicule.  Dr. 
Brown  Maughs  helped  him.  They  raised  a  laugh 
at  my  expense.  I  had  nothing  to  reply  to — was 
confused  and  mortified.  The  vote  was  taken,  and 
I  was  floored.  After  adjournment  he  saw  that  I 
was  annoyed,  and  coming  to  me  with  his  invin- 
cible good  nature,  "  Ah !  old  fellow,"  said  he, 
"  did  you  think  I  was  going  to  work  on  your  tim- 
bers ?  I  had  too  much  sense  for  that.  My  only 
show  was  to  nibble  your  ropes,"  and  he  finished 
with  that  laugh  of  his,  half  exultant  and  half 
humorous.  I  said  something  about  nonsense 
being  at  a  premium  in  this  grave  body,  charged 
with  vital  interests  of  the  Church.  He  replied 


94  LIPEOPOAPLE8. 

that  I  must  console  myself  as  John  Randolph 
did,  referring  to  an  anecdote  he  had  seen  to  this 
effect:  Randolph  being  defeated  in  a  Congres- 
sional struggle,  after  one  of  his  greatest  speeches, 
met  his  servant,  and  relieved  himself  by  saying 
to  that  friendly  auditor,  "  We  carried  the  day  in 
the  argument,  but  they  got  the  advantage  in  the 
voting."  It  was  impossible  not  to  love  him. 

I  have  said  that  he  never  indulged  his  wit  in 
the  pulpit.  I  never  heard  of  but  one  exception 
to  this.  It  occurred  at  Savannah.  Elder  Hud- 
gins,  of  the  Campbellite  Church,  had  been  carrying 
on  a  meeting  for  some  time,  and  had  immersed 
great  numbers  of  people.  The  preaching  had 
been  largely,  of  course,  on  the  mode  of  baptism. 
A  popular  furore  was  raised  on  the  subject  of 
immersion.  Methodists  and  others  insisted  that 
Caples  should  preach  a  sermon  to  meet  the  cur- 
rent. He  was  reluctant,  but  at  last  yielded  For 
once  he  determined  to  preach  ad  captandum. 
The  result  was  a  sermon  altogether  unique,  and 
such  as  he  alone  could  make.  No  one  else  need 
ever  attempt  one  on  the  same  plan,  unless  he 
wishes  to  make  himself  ridiculous.  But  he  could 
do  it  to  perfection.  The  sermon  was  allegorical, 
the  basis  of  the  allegory  being  a  military  cam- 
paign. My  account  of  it  was  from  his  own  lips. 

First  came  the  preliminaries — efforts  on  both 
sides  to  secure  the  alliance  of  the  Greeks.  At 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  95 

this  point  lie  reviewed  the  controversy  on  the 
meaning  of  such  Greek  words  as  are  involved  in 
the  baptismal  contest.  The  result  was  a  firm 
alliance  with  the  Greeks.  ~No  trouble  about  sol- 
diers now.  The  Greeks  love  to  fight.  They  will 
enlist  to  a  man,  if  need  be,  and  take  the  front  in 
every  battle.  The  army  now  organized,  every 
phalanx  takes  the  field.  Active  operations  begin. 

He  is  at  no  loss  where  to  find  the  enemy,  who 
is  in  force  at  the  ford  of  the  Jordan.  The  argu- 
ment on  John's  baptism  was  here  gone  over,  and 
the  Greeks  all  in  phalanx,  with  spear  and  buckler, 
fresh,  confident,  invincible,  make  the  charge. 
There  is  desperate  courage  in  the  immersionist 
ranks.  This  ford  is  the  key  of  their  position. 
They  are  conscious  of  it.  This  lost,  disorganiza- 
tion and  overthrow  are  imminent.  They  fight  like 
heroes.  But  one  phalanx  after  another,  imper- 
turbable as  truth  itself,  bears  down  upon  them, 
until  they  waver,  their  columns  break,  and  they 
fly.  The  retreat  is  rapid,  made  in  some  disorder, 
and  in  the  direction  of  Enon. 

He  predicts  that  they  will  rally  at  Enon.  There 
is  water  there,  much  water ;  and  the  line  of  the 
Jordan  lost,  this  point  is  vital.  Taking  no  time  to 
breathe,  he  marches  his  Greeks,  flushed  with  vie 
tory,  upon  Enon.  As  he  expected,  the  immersion- 
ist forces  are  massed  here.  ]STo  time  is  lost.  The 
attack  is  brought  on  at  once  and  furiously.  Here 


96  LIPEOFCAPLES. 

he  gave  the  argument  on  this  passage.  The  enemy 
makes  a  better  stand  than  he  expected.  He  had 
calculated  upon  their  being  disheartened  from 
defeat,  and  the  loss  of  their  most  important  line 
of  defense.  But  they  tight  with  absolute  despera- 
tion now.  They  "  tight  for  their  firesides  and  their 
altars."  They  seem  eager  to  die.  But  on  come 
the  Greeks ;  they  never  falter.  Truth  knows  no 
pity.  Whoever  stands  in  its  way  must  be  run 
over.  The  phalanx  of  Truth  receives  no  check 
in  the  desperate  bloodshed  that  stains  all  the 
springs  of  Enon.  At  last  the  shattered  columns 
of  the  enemy  break.  They  fought  till  hope  was 
gone — long  after  it  was  gone  they  still  fought— 
fought  from  sheer  desperation,  and  from  the  in- 
stinct of  lighting.  Immersionists  are  all  born 
lighters.  But  it  avails  nothing.  What  the  mad- 
dest bravery  could  do  has  been  done.  All  goes 
for  nothing.  Enon  is  lost.  Nothing  remains  now 
but  to  surrender  at  discretion  or  maintain  a  hope- 
less, desultory  warfare  for  awhile.  The  last  line 
of  defense  is  lost.  A  sound  discretion  would  dic- 
tate peace  on  any  terms  in  such  a  situation.  But 
who  ever  knew  an  immersionist  to  surrender? 
Like  the  Mamelukes,  they  keep  slashing  with 
their  swords  while  they  are  dying. 

At  last  they  fly.  The  Greeks  hold  Enon.  The 
retreat  is  precipitate.  With  as  little  delay  as 
possible  he  brings  on  his  forces  in  pursuit.  The 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  97 

enemy  has  lied  to  the  desert  toward  Gaza.  There 
is,  however,  no  difficulty  in  following.  The  desert 
is  strewn  with  abandoned  impedimenta,  and  with 
the  exhausted,  the  wounded  and  dying.  He  has- 
tened forward  and  soon  came  upon  th<em.  They 
had  found  water  in  the  desert;  probably  not 
much — possibly  enough  to  cover  a  man.  At  any 
rate  it  was  water.  The  Jordan  lost,  and  Enon  lost, 
every  little  puddle  in  this  scarce  country  was  worth 
a  fight.  Here,  accordingly,  was  another  battle,  and 
another  defeat  of  the  enemy.  In  this  case  it  was 
an  utter  rout.  It  would  seem  that  this  must  end 
the  unequal  conflict.  Yet  he  would  make  thorough 
work  of  it,  so  he  led  his  Greeks  forward.  Not  an 
enemy  was  to  be  found.  They  had  certainly  dis- 
banded and  given  up  in  despair.  He  goes  into 
camp,  however,  prudently  resolving  not  to  disor- 
ganize his  forces,  for  he  dreads  guerrilla  opera- 
tions. Beating  around  the  country  in  search  of 
any  trace  of  the  fugitives,  he  hears  a  melancholy 
voice — a  sort  of  wail.  "It  is  a  voice  from  the 
tombs,"  said  he ;"  "  they  have  taken  to  the  tombs ! 
Hark !  Do  you  hear  that?  ' Buried  with  him  in 
'baptism.''  I  knew  it.  They  have  intrenched  them- 
selves in  the  tombs." 

Deprecating  the  violation  of  the  tombs  by  the 
din  of  war,  but  determined  at  all  costs  to  secure 
the  fruits  of  so  many  victories,  he  made  the  last 

attack  and  took  the  tombs. 

7 


98  L1FEOFOAPLES. 

It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  this  allegory  con- 
stituted the  staple  of  the  sermon.  Argument, 
illustration,  exposition  of  Scripture,  formed  the 
substance  of  the  discourse.  The  allegory,  man- 
aged as  he  alone  could  do  it,  secured  a  popular 
effect,  kept  attention  on  tiptoe,  and  well  disposed 
his  audience  to  receive  the  more  important  and 
substantial  matter  which  he  gave  them. 

I  feel  in  this,  as  in  every  instance,  that  I  have 
given  no  just  idea  of  the  vivacity,  vigor  and  taking 
character  of  his  public  efforts.  It  is  not  in  me  to 
do  it.  Indeed,  if  they  had  been  taken  down,  word 
for  word  from  his  lips,  the  printed  speech  would 
give  no  idea  of  the  spoken  speech.  Voice,  face, 
that  peerless  eye,  the  very  attitude  of  the  man, 
gave  more  meaning  than  the  words  did. 

The  first  time  I  ever  saw  him  was  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1842,  at  a  camp  meeting  in  the  Peery  settle- 
ment. Constantine  F.  Dry  den  was  on  the  Trenton 
circuit,  in  the  bounds  of  which  this  meeting  was 
held.  I  was  on  the  Grundy  Mission,  which  lay 
higher  lip  on  the  branches  of  Grand  river.  It  was 
my  first  year  in  the  ministry.  I  had  not  seen 
much  of  Methodist  preachers  beyond  the  neigh- 
borhood where  I  was  born,  had  not  attended  a 
session  of  Conference,  nor  met  with  any  preachers 
during  the  course  of  this  year,  except  my  Presiding 
Elder,  William  W.  Redman,  and  brother  Dryden. 
Every  new  preacher  I  met,  if  he  was  a  man  of 


LIFEOFCAPLES.  99 

mark,  impressed  me  deeply.  I  am  conscious  to 
this  day  of  a  sort  of  romantic  interest  in  all  the 
preachers  whom  I  met  this  year.  At  this  meeting 
I  saw,  also,  for  the  first  time,  Daniel  A.  Leeper. 
He  was  about  my  own  age,  and  was  just  begin- 
ning to  preach.  One  afternoon  he  preached  at 
the  camp-meeting.  His  text  was :  "  Behold  I  stand 
at  the  door  and  knock,"  &c.  It  was  properly  an 
exhortation.  He  wept  and  all  the  people  wept. 
My  soul  clave  to  him  from  that  hour. 

There  I  became  acquainted  with  those  princes 
of  Grand  river  Methodism,  the  Peerys,  Wynns, 
and  others.  There  was  among  them  a  sort  of 
elegant  plainness  that  realized  all  that  is  best  in 
refined  manners  under  Christian  conditions.  I 
began  to  get  a  better  insight  into  life  and  society, 
My  horizon  widened,  perceptibly.  No  one  fact 
contributed  more  to  this  than  my  contact  with 
Mr.  Caples.  He  had  been  sent  up  (being  on  the 
Keytesville  circuit)  by  the  Presiding  Elder  to  sup- 
ply his  lack  of  service,  he  being  unable  to  attend. 

Something  may  be  inferred  of  his  standing  at 
the  time  from  the  fact  that  Brother  Dryden,  an 
older  man  and  preacher,  cordially  yielded  him 
precedence  in  everything.  He  took  the  manage- 
ment of  the  meeting  and  preached  at  11  o'clock 
on  Sunday.  Of  the  sermon  I  only  remember  these 
facts — that  I  did  not  see  the  connection  of  the 
thought,  did  not  perceive  the  unity  of  it — that  it 


100  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

was  very  long,  and  that  it  magnetized  the  congre- 
gation. The  feeling  among  the  people  became 
more  and  mere  intense  to  the  very  last  All 
seemed  instinctively  to  recognize  in  him  a  leader 
of  God's  Host. 

A  few  weeks  later  I  heard  him  at  Old  Franklin, 
at  a  meeting  attended  by  several  preachers  on 
their  way  to  Conference.  He  preached  on  Sun- 
day morning.  I  remember,  more  distinctly  than  I 
do  the  sermon,  a  conversation  I  heard  between 
two  elderly  laymen,  expressing  devout  gratitude 
to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  for  raising  up 
such  a  young  man  for  his  service  in  Missouri.  It 
was  to  them  a  mark  of  the  favor  of  God. 

Some  years  elapsed  before  I  heard  hi  in  again. 
It  was  when  he  was  stationed  at  Glasgow  and  I 
was  on  the  Weston  circuit,  in  1846.  He  visited 
the  family  of  Gen.  Gist,  his  wife's  father,  then 
living  in  my  circuit.  I  had  appointed  a  meeting 
in  anticipation  of  his  visit.  It  was  then,  for  the 
first  time,  I  saw  the  grandeur  of  his  mind.  His 
word  was  in  power.  The  only  time  I  ever  knew 
him  to  be  at  a  loss  for  a  word  was  at  this  meet- 
ing. In  that  instance  he  was  so  completely  at 
fault  that  after  a  pause  of  some  moments  he  used 
a  word  that,  in  the  connection,  was  really  ludicrous. 
He  intended  to  say  the  wounded  deer  forsakes  the 
herd,  but  the  word  forsakes  forsook  him,  and  he 
said  slopes —  and  there  the  sentence  ended.  The 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  101 

strangest  tiling  was  that  the  congregation,  all  in 
tears,  did  not  seem  to  observe  the  blunder.  He 
recovered  immediately.  I  question  if  there  was 
ever  another  instance  of  his  hesitating  for  a  word. 

He  never  healed  the  hurt  of  humanity  slightly. 
He  probed  to  the  bottom  of  the  sore.  The  guilt, 
the  hell-deserving  character  of  sin,  the  absolute 
helplessness  of  the  sinner,  he  portrayed  in  their 
deepest  colors.  The  danger  of  souls  he  felt,  and 
made  his  congregations  feel  it.  ISTor  would  he 
tolerate  any  empirical  treatment.  The  all-heal- 
ing blood  of  Christ  alone  could  save.  That  blood 
could  be  reached  only  by  faith,  and  faith  could 
not  exist  without  a  deep  repentance.  The  test  of 
all  true  repentance  was  the  forsaking  of  sin. 
Tlwrougli  wor~k  must  be  made  when  the  soul  was 
at  stake. 

He  dealt  faithfully  by  the  Church.  Outward 
sin  in  the  Church  he  rebuked  with  authority. 
He  had  great  skill  in  setting  it  in  every  odious 
light.  Sins  against  light,  against  knowledge, 
against  covenant  engagements — were  these  sins 
in  the  Church?  The  guilt  of  them  was  heavy. 
Especially  would  he  lay  the  soul  bare  for  its  own 
inspection,  and  detect  and  bring  to  shame  the 
lurking  secret  corruptions  that  were  there,  cor- 
roding it,  defiling  it.  Lust,  pride,  mercenariness, 
anger,  malice,  often  ruling  the  heart  when  the 
outward  life  is  without  reproach,  he  would  charge 


102  LIFE     OP     OAPLES. 

upon  his  hearers  with  such  convincing  speech 
that  every  one  would  go  home  convicted  of  sin. 
The  foundation  of  revivals  under  his  preaching 
was  thus  deeply  laid.  The  motives  he  appealed 
to  were  of  the  highest  order.  He  did  not  at  all 
depend  on  touching  anecdotes — rarely  related 
incidents.  The  tears  that  fell  in  his  congrega- 
tions were  not  started  by  graphic  descriptions  of 
death-bed  scenes;  or,  if  ever,  very  rarely.  The 
Word  of  God  was  his  weapon  —  the  very  sword 
of  the  Spirit.  "  The  Word  of  God  is  quick  and 
powerful,  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  di- 
viding asunder  the  soul  and  spirit,  and  the  joints 
and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoughts 
and  intents  of  the  heart." 

I  have  witnessed  revivals  that  were  marked  by 
a  species  of  flippancy,  from  the  low  class  of  mo- 
tives appealed  to.  Not  much  lasting  fruit  is 
gathered  from  such. 

All  the  duties  of  a  holy  life  were  urged  home  by 
him  in  times  of  revival  with  most  solemn  enforce- 
ment. The  doctrines,  the  great  fundamental  doc- 
trines, he  would  set  forth  largely  at  such  times. 
But  didactic  sermons  from  him  were  not  dry. 
There  was  not  much  mere  exhortation,  but  almost 
all  he  said  had  the  force  of  exhortation.  It  at 
once  enlightened  the  understanding  and  appealed 
to  the  conscience. 

Oh  1  what  a  comforter  of  the  Lord's  people  he 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  103 

was  when  they  were  in  distress.  He  had  himself 
"been  in  the  depths.  Every  consolatory  form  of 
truth  had  at  one  time  or  another  met  some  great 
need  of  his  own  soul.  Out  of  the  Word  of  God 
and  his  own  experience  he  administered  abun- 
dant consolation  to  those  who  were  cast  down. 
His  voice  at  such  times  made  the  words  richer 
and  more  healing. 

His  preaching  was  never  empty  declamation. 
He  did  not  understand  himself  to  "be  a  declaimer. 
The  arts  of  oratory  he  had  not  studied  with  much 
care.  He  was  a  teacher  of  Christian  truth.  To 
accomplish  this  mission  most  effectually  was  his 
study.  "Whatever  was  impressive  and  effective 
in  manner  and  voice  was  a  natural  gift,  perfected 
by  the  aim  and  effort  I  have  mentioned.  There 
\vas  no  merit  aside  from  the  matter  —  no  merit  of 
mere  manner  —  though,  as  a  vehicle  of  the  matter, 
his  manner  was  most  effective. 

His  sermons  were  eminently  suggestive,  I 
scarcely  ever  heard  him  preach  that  he  did  not 
give  me  some  germinal  thought  which  started  into 
immediate  growth  in  my  own  mind,  so  overflow- 
ing with  vital  thought  was  all  he  said.  Some  ser- 
mons, full  of  important  matter,  have  an  architec- 
tural character.  Everything  is  finished.  They 
have  high  value  and  great  beauty.  But  every  part 
is  finished.  You  see  nothing  beyond  just  what  is 
contained  in  the  structure.  Mr.  Caples'  were  not 


104  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

of  that  class.  I  have  already,  in  -another  trait  of 
them,  compared  them  to  a  tree.  The  same  illus- 
tration is  in  point  here.  A  thousand  germ  points, 
in  each  one,  were  ready  to  start  into  fresh  and  in- 
deflhite  development. 

I  have  said  that  he  rarely  "  made  failures  "  in 
preaching.  A  few  times  in  his  life  he  did,  but 
very  few.  The  most  notable  instance  of  the  kind 
in  the  memory  of  his  friends  occurred  at  Nash- 
ville, at  the  General  Conference  of  1858.  To  those 
who  knew  him  it  seemed  almost  a  miracle  that  a 
mind  so  vital  could  so  completely  break  down. 
There  was  neither  thought  nor  spirit  in  it.  I 
knew  what  few  did,  that  for  two  days  he  had  been 
sick,  and  that,  as  the  result  of  it,  he  was  suffering 
from  great  physical  debility.  Almost  any  other 
man  would  have  excused  hiniself  from  the  task. 
To  do  so,  however,  seemed  to  him  a  sort  of  affec- 
tation. 

To  the  debilitating  effect  of  sickness  must  be 
added  the  fact  that  he  had  been  spoken  of  for  the 
Episcopal  office,  and  he  'suspected  that  many  of 
the  members  of  the  Conference  were  there  to  de- 
cide upon  the  question  of  his  capacity  for  that 
position.  He  became  self-conscious.  There  was 
no  help  for  him.  In  pain  and  weakness,  aggra- 
vated by  this  consciousness,  he  dragged  through 
a  most  miserable  effort  of  near  an  hour.  I  had 
heard  him,  at  St.  Charles,  only  a  few  months  be- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  105 

fore,  from  the  same  text.  The  sun  unobscured 
and  the  sun  in  total  eclipse  have  not  an  aspect 
more  in  contrast  than  these  two  sermons. 

His  preaching  was  original,  often  unique — but 
not  eccentric.  He  used,  however,  to  relate  an  an- 
ecdote of  his  early  ministry  to  this  effect :  Ex- 
pecting to  attend  a  camp-meeting  ( I  think  it  was 
in  Jackson  county — of  this,  however,  I  am  not 
sure),  he  memorized  one  of  Wesley's  sermons, 
intending  to  deliver  it  in  case  of  being  called  upon 
to  preach.  Not  yet  confident  of  his  ability  to 
preach  extempore  on  such  an  occasion,  he  thought 
this  the  better  policy.  He  had  fully  mastered  the 
sermon,  and  entered  the  pulpit  with  confidence. 
Singing  and  prayer  ended,  he  arose  and  announced 
his  text.  On  the  instant  his  mind  became  com- 
pletely inactive.  Memory  would  render  up  none 
of  her  store.  That  precious  sermon  was  under 
lock  and  key,  and  the  key  was  lost.  Such  was 
the  effect  of  it  on  his  nervous  system  that  he  lost 
consciousness  and  fell.  On  coming  to  himself  he 
discovered  that  he  was  lying  on  a  bed  in  the 
preacher's  tent,  and  that  there  was  no  one  present. 
Upon  an  impulse  of  shame  he  crept  under  the 
bed.  After  some  minutes  of  mortifying  reflec- 
tion he  seized  his  saddlebags,  hoping  to  elude  ob- 
servation, and  fly  from  the  place.  Fortunately, 
the  Presiding  Elder  met  him  at  the  tent  door, 


106  LIFE     OP     CAPLES. 

and,  with  brotherly  force,  detained  and  soothed 
him — perhaps  saved  him. 

He  was  thus  effectually  cured  of  plagiarism. 
He  set  up  a  thinking  shop  of  his  own,  and 
carried  on  business  on  a  grand  scale.  To  be 
sure  he  did  not  disdain  to  get  lumber  at  other 
men's  mills.  He  laid  in  material  from  every 
source  of  supply — from  books,  from  observation 
upon  men  and  society,  and  from  the  primeval 
warehouses  of  earth  and  heaven.  But  all  that  he 
put  on  the  market  was  made  in  the  shop.  He 
kept  no  second-hand  furniture  for  sale.  When 
you  once  knew  him  there  was  no  mistaking  his 
work.  I  should  have  known  one  of  his  sermons 
if  I  had  met  it  on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  They 
were  of  a  type  as  peculiar  as  that  of  his  own  phy- 
sique. Indeed,  between  the  mental  and  physical 
conformation  there  was  a  striking  resemblance'. 

I  had  not  heard  him  for  several  years  before  his 
death,  but  from  all  I  gather  he  grew  to  the  last. 
His  preaching  at  the  Mexico  Conference  will 
never  be  forgotten.  The  sad  events  of  the  war, 
probably,  deepened  his  -character. 

But  I  must  stop.  I  shall  weary  the  reader. 
I  am  in  a  garrulous  mood.  I  can  not  tire  of  talk- 
ing about  this  preacher.  I  see  him  now  in  the 
rude  camp-meeting  pulpit,  a  little  stooped  as  he 
announces  his  text.  With  what  deliberation  he 
unfolds  his  theme  for  the  first  twenty  minutes. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  107 

His  voice  now  deepens.  Electric  streams  begin  to 
pour  out  of  Ms  eyes.  Soul  and  body  dilate.  The 
current  of  ideas  widens.  The  volume  and  mo- 
mentum of  thought  is  augmented.  The  congrega- 
tion is  hushed.  There  is  much  weeping.  There 
is  deep  sobbing.  Will  he  not  forbear?  Justice 
appears  with  the  hot  thunderbolt  in  his  lifted 
hand.  Mercy  pleads.  Guilt  darkens  eternity, 
pardon  lifts  the  pall.  The  Judgment  Throne  and 
Heaven  and  Hell  sweep  into  the  field  of  vision. 


destiny ! 

"  Come !  sinners,  come !  It  is  not  too  late.  You 
are  not  dead  yet,  thank  God !  thank  God.  Come ! 
God  calls  you!  Fly!  Death  is  on  your  track. 
Your  steps  take  hold  on  hell.  The  pointed  light- 
ning-shaft quivers  at  your  breast.  COME  TO 
CHEIST  !  COME  NOW  ! " 

The  altar  is  crowded  with  the  slain.  There  are 
shouts,  and  groans,  and  sobs,  and  cries,  and  songs, 
all  mingled,  and  above  all  the  voice  of  the 
preacher:  "HE  is  ABLE  TO  SAVE  TO  THE  TJTTEK- 

MOST  ALL  THAT  COME  TO  GOD  BY  HlM." 

In  confirmation  and  illustration  of  what  has 
been  said  in  this  chapter,  Rev.  W.  M.  Wood  sends 
me  the  following  account  of  his  preaching  at  a 
camp  meeting  near  Shelbyville  in  the  summer  of 
1850.  "  The  meeting  had  continued,"  brother 
Wood  writes,  "  some  days  with  great  success. 


108  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

Monday  came,  and  with  it  a  continuous  rain. 
The  preacher  had  no  thought  of  service.  The 
tent-holders  had  a  consultation ;  the  result  was  a 
proposition  to  Caples  that  if  he  would  preach  he 
should  have  a  congregation.  He  consented,  and 
appeared  on  the  platform,  partially  protected  by 
a  temporary  cover.  The  people  gathered  around, 
some  with  umbrellas,  others  without,  standing  in 
the  falling  rain,  like  statues,  listening  to  the  word 
of  life  as  it  fell  from  his  lips — one  of  the  most 
impressive  illustrations  of  the  power  of  true  elo- 
quence I  ever  have  known.  S ,  a  bright  candle 

in  the  ministerial  ranks  in  the  East,  who  having 
come  West  intending  to  invest  a  little  surplus 
money  in  lands  and  continue  his  ministerial 
labors,  was  induced  to  engage  in  speculation, 
and,  Lucifer-like,  had  fallen,  heard  the  sermon. 
He  came  to  Caples  at  the  close,  with  tears,  and 
asked  if  there  was  any  hope  for  him,  and  if  so, 
what  he  must  do.  C.  told  him  to  go  and  sell  all 
and  give  to  the  poor,  and  with  sincere  repentance 
engage  in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  He  promised 
he  would,  but  when  Caples  was  gone  it  was  all 
forgotten,  and,  poor  man,  the  night  of  his  death  he 
said  he  was  wrecked,  soul  and  body." 

This  incident  not  only  illustrates  his  wonderful 
power  as  a  preacher,  but  his  clear  sense  of  the 
exclusive  character  of  this  calling.  Preaching 
once  on  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  he  was  dilating 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  109 

on  the  passage  of  the  Apocalypse  in  which  the 
angel  appears,  flying  through  the  midst  of  heaven, 
having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach.  Seeing 
in  the  congregation  some  preachers  who  had  once 
"been  devoted  exclusively  to  the  work  of  God  in 
the  itinerant  ranks,  and  had,  as  he  believed,  great 
power  for  usefulness,  but  who  were  now  local, 
and  immersed  in  business,  having  large  farms 
and  mills,  he  suddenly  pictured  the  angel  weighted 
down  with  a  mill  on  one  wing  and  a  farm  on  the 
other,  laboring  in  painful  and  embarrassed  flight. 
The  brethren  felt  the  force  and  acknowledged  the 
justice  of  the  rebuke,  but  held  on  to  their  mills 
and  farms. 

Amos  Rees,  Esq.,  gives  the  following1  account 
of  an  exhortation  he  once  heard  from  him  at 
Parkville :  "After  a  long,  tedious  sermon  by 
another  man,  Caples  arose  and  seemed  to  be 
at  a  loss  for  something  to  say.  At  last  he  an- 
nounced one  of  those  passages  of  Scripture  where 
Christ  is  spoken  of  as  a  rock,  which  was  suggested 
by  something  said  by  the  preceding  preacher. 
From  that  he  branched  out  into  one  of  the  most 
powerful  exhortations  I  ever  heard  in  my  life, 
either  before  or  since,  and  for  thirty  or  forty  min- 
utes the  whole  congregation  was  spell-bound  and 
in  tears ;  no  doubt  much  more  so  from  the  con- 
trast between  this  exhortation  and  the  sermon 
preceding.  He  went  on  to  say  that  Christ  was 


110  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

that  rock.  To  be  saved  we  must  get  on  that  rock. 
How  shall  we  get  on  it?  There  is  an  immense 
chasm  "between  us  and  the  rock,  all  deep,  dark 
and  fearful.  We  must  get  on  it  by  faith.  He 
would  bring  the  poor,  halting  sinner  up  to  the 
verge  of  that  chasm,  and  require  him  to  take  a 
step  forward.  Trembling  and  alarmed,  he  could 
not  do  it.  But  ruin  was  behind  him  and  destruc- 
tion before.  Then  he  interposed  the  promise  of 
God  that  he  should  be  saved  if  he  went  on,  and 
assured  him  that  ruin  would  follow  his  halting. 
At  last  he  pressed  him  to  take  a  step  by  faith. 
His  foot  was  on  a  rock.  And  so,  hesitating,  doubt- 
ing, fearing,  he  made  him  take  step  after  step 
until  he  was  safely  landed  on  the  rock. 

"  Now,  as  you  received  Christ,  so  must  you  walk. 
You  received  him  by  faith — you  must  go  out  and 
walk  by  faith.  He  pressed  him  out  in  the  same 
way  he  had  got  him  on  to  the  rock.  He  got  him 
to  take  a  step  by  faith,  and  his  foot  was  on  a  rock* 
although  he  could  not  see  it.  And  so  he  got  him 
out,  step  by  step,  until,  at  last,  in  his  peculiar 
style,  he  exclaimed,  in  all  the  fervor  of  his  soul, 
'  Bless  God,  the  way  to  heaven  is  a  macadamized 
road !'  The  effect  was  overwhelming.  The  house 
was  in  tears." 

A  statement  from  Rev.  W.  M.  Rush  will  close 
this  chapter: 

"I  first  met  Mr.  Caples  at  a  session  of  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  Ill 

Missouri  Conference,  held  in  Jefferson  City, 
commencing  on  the  31st  day  of  August,  1842. 
He  was  there  for  admission,  on  trial,  into  the 
traveling  connection.  I  remember  him  at  the 
altar  upon  his  knees,  engaged  in  most  earnest, 
pleading  prayer  for  penitent  sinners.  His  prayer 
impressed  me  greatly,  and  I  remember  it  with  a 
distinctness  with  which  I  remember  no  other 
prayer  that  I  heard  during  that  Conference  ses- 
sion. Mr.  Caples'  prayers  were  always  edifying, 
but  there  were  times,  as  in  the  above  instance, 
when  he  would  seem,  in  an  extraordinary  manner, 
to  come  into  the  immediate  presence  of  God,  and 
there  talk  and  plead  with  his  Maker  as  I  have 
rarely  ever  heard  any  one.  I  remember  him  as 
the  faithful  pastor,  the  efficient  and  ever  popular 
Presiding  Elder,  the  advocate,  friend  and  agent 
of  our  literary  institutions,  and  I  can  never  forget 
him  as  I  have  seen  him  upon  the  platform  at  our 
Missionary  Anniversaries,  pleading  the  cause  of 
the  poor  in  the  sparsely  settled  sections  of  our  own 
country  and  the  cause  of  the  perishing  heathen. 
But  above  all  do  I  remember  him  in  the  pulpit, 
the  messenger  of  God  to  the  people,  and  I  think  I 
never  saw  a  man  in  the  pulpit  whose  whole  spirit 
and  bearing  were  in  better  keeping  with  the  char- 
acter of  his  message  than  were  his.  Here,  indeed, 
he  was  a  master — a  workman  that  needed  not  to 
be  ashamed.  Who  that  heard  his  sermon  on  the 


112  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

Judgment,  preached  at  the  Conference  at  Rich- 
mond, in  1855,  can  ever  forget  it  ?  His  text  was 
Rev.  xx.  11-15 :  "  And  I  saw  a  great  white  throne, 
and  Him  that  sat  on  it,"  &c.  He  argued  the  neces- 
sity of  a  judgment.  He  described  the  solemn  and 
awful  grandeur  of  the  attendant  circumstances — 
the  great  white  throne  and  Him  that  sat  on  it — the 
dissolving  universe — the  opening  graves  and  the 
dead,  small  and  great,  standing  before  God,  were  all 
dwelt  upon  in  his  own  peculiarly  graphic-and  lucid 
style.  But  the  interest  of  his  discourse  culminated 
in  the  opening  of  the  books.  Prominent  among  the 
books  was  the  book  of  memory.  Memory,  faithful 
to  her  trust,  had  borne  an  impartial  testimony. 
Every  thought  and  feeling  and  desire  of  the  heart 
was  legible  as  if  written  with  an  iron  pen  and 
graven  in  the  rock  forever.  Every  word  echoed 
afresh  through  all  the  chambers  of  the  soul,  and 
every  transaction  of  life,  whether  good  or  bad, 
was  a  living  consciousness.  Next  was  opened 
the  book  of  life ;  and  this  was  not  a  mere  record 
of  names — names,  indeed,  were  there — but  it  was 
also  a  record  of  the  way  of  life.  Each  redeemed 
one  could  plainly  read  the  record  of  his  own 
recovery.  Drifting  down  to  the  abyss  of  woe, 
guilty,  polluted,  ready  to  perish,  he  came,  peni- 
tently, trustingly,  to  the  Father,  through  the  Son, 
and  obtained  mercy ;  was  lifted  up,  washed,  puri- 
iied,  refined,  clothed  in  righteousness;  his  name 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  113 

written  in  heaven,  lie  now  stands  approved  in  the 
presence  of  his  Judge.  I  can  give  no  adequate 
description  of  this  sermon  or  of  its  effect  upon 
the  vast  congregation  that  heard  it.  Some  one 
said  he  preached  an  hour  and  a  half,  but  I  made 
no  note  of  time.  The  preacher  was  himself  moved 
and  inspired  by  his  theme  as  I  rarely  ever  saw 
him,  and  he  carried  his  audience  with  him  at  will 
as  he  ranged  amid  the  grand  topics  of  his  sub- 
ject ;  and  in  the  close  of  his  discourse  we  saw  the 
righteous  saved,  the  wicked  damned  and  God's 
eternal  justice  approved. 

The  sermon  was  the  subject  of  remark  for  days. 
A  visiting  brother,  who  is  himself  a  man  of  dis- 
tinction in  the  Church,  and  who  had  heard  most 
of  the  leading  pulpit  men  of  the  country,  not  only 
of  the  Methodist  Church,  but  of  other  Churches, 
remarked  to  me  the  next  day,  that  he  had  heard 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  country 
preach  upon  the  judgment,  but  that  Caples'  ser- 
mon was  the  grandest  thing  he  ever  heard  on  that 
subject.  Such  are  some  of  my  recollections  of 
our  mutual  friend  and  brother." 


114  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  PASTOR. 

Mr.  Caples  was  in  the  active  work  of  the  minis- 
try more  than  twenty-four  years.  Eight  years  of 
this  time  he  was  a  Presiding  Elder  and  two  years 
agent  of  Central  College.  He  spent  over  fourteen 
years  as  a  Pastor,  on  stations  and  circuits.  He 
never  imagined  that  he  had  filled  up  the  measure 
of  duty  when  he  had  met  his  regular  appoint- 
ments. 

There  are,  on  one  principle  of  classification, 
just  two  sorts  of  men  in  the  pastoral  office.  The 
two  classes  are  not  in  fact  separated  by  a  sharply 
defined  boundary,  but  shade  into  each  other  by 
imperceptible  degrees  of  approach.  One  class  is 
composed  of  men  who  seem  to  have  no  idea  of 
anything  beyond  the  routine  of  stated  and  well- 
defined  duties.  They  go  to  the  regular  appoint- 
ments ;  if  they  find  prayer  and  class-meetings 
already  established,  they  attend  them  (provided 
it  may  be  convenient) ;  and  if  any  one  happens  to 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  115 

volunteer  a  subscription  for  the  Advocate,  why 
they  will  forward  the  name.  I  once  inquired  of 
an  excellent  and  very  sensible  layman,  living  in 
a  circuit,  how  his  preacher  was  doing.  "  Well," 
said  he,  "  he's  goin'  around."  This  told  the  whole 
story.  The  routine  was  steadily  gone  through 
with.  Every  four  weeks,  about  eleven  o'clock  or 
a  little  later,  you  might  look  down  the  road, 
assured  that  your  eye  would  be  rewarded  by  the 
vision  of  the  preacher  advancing  at  a  leisurely 
pace,  his  whole  aspect  and  bearing  seeming  to 
give  assurance  that  nothing  could  move  him  any 
faster,  and  nothing  stop  him,  unless  it  might  be 
"  bad  weather." 

Everything  is  perfunctory,  both  in  the  doing 
and  in  the  spirit  of  it.  You  begin  to  feel  sleepy 
the  moment  you  see  him.  He  evidently  has  a 
serious,  complacent  sense  of  the  fact  that  he  is 
"  doin'  the  duties."  N"o  sooner  is  he  fairly  estab- 
lished on  a  circuit  than  the  Church  subsides.  It 
will  hibernate  so  long  as  he  remains. 

Take  an  example  of  the  other  sort.  He  comes 
to  his  circuit  to  do  whatever  he  may  for  the  Mas- 
ter. He  is  full  of  his  mission.  The  affairs  of  the 
Church  must  be  attended  to.  He  never  whimpers 
about  this  or  that  being  the  duty  of  some  one  else. 
If  no  one  else  will,  he  does  it,  or  sees  that  it  is 
done.  If  Church  property  is  not  regularly  deeded 
or  cared  for,  he  sees  that  it  is  no  longer  neglected. 


116  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

He  stirs  around  among  the  people  and  wakes 
them  up  to  organize  Sunday-schools.  When 
there  are  no  prayer  meetings  or  class  meetings, 
he  appoints  them,  and  if  lie  can  induce  no  laymen 
to  lead,  he  will  lead  himself.  He  talks  about  the 
Advocate  with  hearty  interest,  and  asks  for  sub- 
scriptions with  the  manner  of  a  man  who  means 
it,  until  there  is  a  subscribing  mania  on  his  cir- 
cuit. He  has  the  broken  lights  in  the  Church 
windows  replaced.  His  eye  is  on  everything  ;  his 
hand  touches  everything.  Think  of  his  circuit 
hibernating ! 

In  the  pulpit  there  is  the  same  vitality.  This 
man  never  drones.  He  may  not  be  boisterous ; 
he  may  be  very  quiet.  But  he  is  in  earnest. 
You  feel  it.  He  is  not  going  through  a  dis- 
course— he  is  preaching  the  gospel 

How  soon  such  a  man  is  felt  in  every  part  of 
his  work.  The  man  is  vital.  Everything  around 
him  wakes  into  life  and  energy.  All  the  agencies 
of  the  Chnrch  become  active.  He  sets  the  whole 
machinery  in  motion. 

"  Like  priest,  like  people."  With  rare  excep- 
tions, the  private  members  of  the  Church  will  not 
be  active  under  an  inactive  preacher.  By  the 
ordination  of  God  the  pastor  is  chiefly  respon- 
sible, as  he,  mainly,  is  charged  with  the  welfare 
of  the  Hock  committed  to  him — over  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  hath  made  him  overseer.  It  is  his 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  117 

business  to  work  for  the  Church.  He  has  nothing 
else  to  do.  If  other  men,  private  or  official  mem- 
bers, neglect  some  duty,  they  may  plead  the  en- 
grossment or  fatigue  of  secular  affairs  with  some 
show  of  plausible  pretense.  But  this  is  his  busi- 
ness, and  negligence  can  offer  no  excuse.  The 
more  so  as  his  negligence  is  certain  to  be  a  pre- 
cedent. Not  only  his  own  idleness,  but  the  idle- 
ness of  the  whole  Church,  which  it  is  his  business 
to  lead  into  active  labors,  he  must  be  held  to  ac- 
count for.  Some  men  in  the  sacred  office  will 
have  a  heavy  account  to  meet  at  the  last  day. 

The  true  pastor  will  interest  himself  in  the  wel- 
fare of  every  member  of  his  charge.  So  far  as 
possible  he  will  become  acquainted  with  every 
one.  In  the  largest  churches  this  may  be  diffi- 
cult. In  such  cases  the  pastor  must  make  the 
wisest  and  most  industrious  use  of  his  time.  He 
can  ascertain  if  any  are  negligent  of  the  means  of 
grace ;  and  if  their  circumstances  make  it  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  see  them  in  a  private  way,  as  is 
often  the  case  with  young  men  in  a  city,  he  can 
write  them  an  affectionate  letter.  I  have  known 
such  a  manifestation  of  affectionate  interest  on 
the  part  of  a  pastor  to  produce  the  happiest  effect. 
The  man  who  realizes  in  any  adequate  degree  the 
worth  of  souls,  will  make  it  his  study  to  keep  all 
those  committed  to  him,  that  he  may  present 
them  at  the  last  day  without  grief  or  shame.  That 


•<*. 

118  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

none  may  have  hurt  or  hindrance  through  his 
fault  or  negligence,  will  be  the  object  of  chief  soli- 
citude with  him.  To  this  end  he  will  make  him- 
self accessible  to  all,  and  invite  approach.  He 
will  interest  himself  in  their  troubles  and  per- 
plexities, even  if  it  should  seem  to  him  absurd  to 
be  troubled  and  perplexed  about  such  things.  It 
will  be  enough  for  him  to  know  that  they  are  in 
difficulty.  The  wicked  one  is  taking  advantage 
of  some  mere  trifle,  it  may  be,  to  tempt  them. 
An  endangered  soul  will  arouse  his  interest.  With 
patient  care  he  will  lay  himself  out  to  defeat  the 
adversary. 

The  pastoral  relation  is  realized  when  there  is 
active  intercourse  between  the  minister  and  his 
people ;  when  there  is  capacity  of  intelligent  in- 
struction on  his  part,  and  respectful  confidence  on 
theirs ;  when  he  is  ready  to  enter  into  all  their 
dangers  and  perplexities,  and  when  all  are  edified 
and  established  through  his  influence  and  instruc- 
tion. 

It  is  not  merely  the  instruction  given  in  parti- 
cular cases,  the  special  attention  given  here  and 
there,  that  builds  up  the.  members  of  the  Church. 
There  are  subtle,  spiritual  influences  going  out 
from  a  true  man  of  God  which  accomplish  more, 
for  aught  I  know,  than  any  special  effort  he  may 
put  forth.  While  he  is  intent  upon  this  duty  and 
that,  going  about  on  the  Lord's  errands,  results 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  119 

follow  that  he  never  dreams  of.  I  once  knew  a 
very  faithful  man  in  charge  of  a  circuit,  always 
doing  something  for  God,  who  was  on  the  road 
early  one  morning  going  to  meet  a  Bible  class. 
A  wicked  man,  seeing  him  in  the  saddle  at  that 
early  hour,  and  knowing  his  character,  and  that 
he  was  spending  his  life  in  doing  good  to  the  souls 
of  men,  fell  under  conviction  and  was  soon  con- 
verted. It  was  "but  a  short  time  until  the  whole 
country  was  in  a  flame  of  revival. 

To  be  effective  this  work  must  proceed  out  of 
a  sanctified  heart.  There  must  be  the  tone  of  a 
true  and  deep  spirituality  in  it.  If  it  is  forced 
work  it  will  fall  into  mere  cant,  which  is  the 
farthest  imaginable  from  genuine  religious  senti- 
ment. Out  of  a  deep  experience  of  the  things  of 
God  a  man  will  speak  freely,  fearlessly,  naturally. 
Cant  is  constrained,  forced,  affected.  The  words 
which  come  out  of  a  heart  overcharged  with  the 
love  of  God  have  body  and  weight.  They  sink 
into  the  minds  of  others,  and  command  a  serious, 
thoughtful  hearing.  Cant  is  chaffy.  It  has  no 
specific  gravity,  and  men  put  its  exhortations 
aside  lightly,  often  with  a  feeling  of  petulance,  as 
if  the  effort  were  felt  to  be  intrusive.  All  genuine 
work  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  must  proceed 
out  of  a  substantial  Christian  character.  A  man 
must  himself  be  in  the  Spirit  in  order  to  make 
the  voice  of  the  Spirit  articulate  to  others. 


120  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

The  minister  must  be  often  in  the  "  mountain," 
or  his  coming  into  the  multitude  will  amount  to 
but  little.  Jacob  comes  to  be  Israel,  "a  prince 

Of  God,"  who  PREVAILS  WITH  GrOD  AND  MEN   only 

after  he  wrestles  with  the  angel  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity— till  his  thigh  is  out  of  joint.  Thus -disa- 
bled he  wrestles  still,  even  when  ready  to  die  under 
the  weight  of  his  Omnipotent  Antagonist — never 
faltering  in  the  importunate  purpose  of  the  strug- 
gle :  "  I  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless  me." 
Thus  prevalent  with  God  he  goes  forth  to  con- 
quer men. 

Mr.  Caples  understood  this.  In  his  diary  I  find 
this  entry :  "  Spent  the  evening  in  reading,  medita- 
tion and  prayer."  The  prayer  seems  to  have  been 
prompted  by  a  sense  of  his  own  need.  But  be- 
yond what  he  knew,  he  was  getting  strength  for 
his  great  work  With  a  sick  wife  and  a  Church 
distracted  by  the  war  upon  his  heart,  he  went 
into  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High.  He  prayed 
in  secret,  and  He  that  heareth  in  secret  rewarded 
him  openly. 

An  important  incident  of  the  pastoral  office  is 
visiting  the  sick  and  comforting  those  that  mourn. 
In  times  of  sorrow  men  turn,  if  ever,  to  the  con- 
templation of  divine  tilings.  In  bereavement,  in 
sickness  and  in  the  presence  of  death  the  heart, 
with  unerring  instinct,  recognizes  in  religion  the 
only  source  of  consolation.  Many  who,  in  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  121 

midst  of  health  and  good  fortune,  slight  the  word 
and  ministers  of  God,  will  call  for  help  from  on 
high  in  the  last  extremity.  And  to  the  faithful 
people  of  God  how  comforting  is  the  presence  of 
the  trusted  pastor  in  the  dark  hour ! 

Dr.  Richard  Bond,  when  he  was  agent  of  the 
American  Bible  Society,  spent  some  days  with 
brother  Caples  in  Glasgow.  At  the  next  session 
of  the  Conference,  during  the  examination  of 
character,  when  the  name  of  brother  C.  was  called, 
Dr.  Bond  stated  as  a  matter  to  be  especially  noted, 
the  considerate  and  tender  attention  he  gave  the 
sick  of  his  charge.  In  his  diary  I  find  abundant 
evidence  of  the  same  fact.  It  not  only  appears 
that  he  was  attentive  to  those  who  were  in  distress, 
but  that  there  was  also  a  deep,  abundant  fountain 
of  sympathy  in  him.  His  visits  were  not  merely 
official ;  they  were  the  attentions  of  a  friend.  He 
entered  into  their" trials.  He  went  to  the  house  of 
mourning  not  because  he  must,  as  a  part  of  his 
calling,  but  from  a  real  interest  in  his  people. 
His  relation  to  them  was  not  a  formal,  ecclesiasti- 
cal one,  so  much,  in  his  own  consciousness,  as  it 
was  real  and  spiritual. 

One  thing  in  his  diary  is  especially  suggestive. 
"Wherever  a  funeral  is  mentioned,  it  is  certain  to 
be  noted  in  the  entry  of  the  following  day  that 
the  bereaved  family  was  visited.  The  day  after 
the  funeral  is  a  sad  day  in  the  household.  A 


122  LIFE     OF     OAPLE9. 

solemn  hush  is  upon  the  whole  scene.  The 
shadow  of  death  lingers.  The  presence  of  a  gos- 
sip, to  chatter  about  the  trifles  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, would  be  an  impertinence.  Not  so  the 
coming  of  the  pastor.  His  face,  full  of  sympathy, 
serious  but  not  gloomy,  brings  a  ray  of  light. 
His  voice,  reading  the  twelfth  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  and  raised  to  God  in 
prayer,  brings  a  sense  of  the  divine  love,  and  the 
graciousness  of  the  divine  severity,  though  not 
yet  seen,  begins  to  be  felt.  There  is  no  better 
day  for  a  pastoral  visit  than  the  next  day  after 
the  lost  one  has  been  laid  to  rest. 

In  other  instances  the  diary  shows  that  his 
visits  were  not  made  at  random.  There  was  much 
going  from  house  to  house.  There  was  also  much 
attention  to  circumstances — much  thoughtful  ad- 
justment of  labor  to  the  actual  condition  of  indi- 
viduals in  his  charge.  From  his  knowledge  of 
human  nature  he  chose  the  best  time  to  approach 
men.  There  are  times  when  almost  every  man  is 
accessible  and  impressible.  He  excelled  in  that 
sort  of  insight  which  enabled  him  to  take  advan- 
tage of  such  times. 

He  makes  mention  of  an  aged  sinner,  very  sick, 
whom  he  visited.  On  the  occasion  of  the  first 
visit  he  was  inaccessible,  evincing  no  interest  in 
religious  concerns.  The  claims  of  Christ  were 
not  pressed  upon  an  unwilling  mind.  The  suffer- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  123 

ings  of  the  helpless  man  were  mitigated  by  a  little 
thoughtful  attention.  When  the  man  of  God  came 
again  he  found  a  willing  ear  and  a  heart  open  to 
his  message.  Another  unconverted  man  he  visited 
constantly  through  a  period  of  many  weeks,  wit- 
nessed a  happy  result  of  his  care,  received  the 
prodigal  into  the  Church,  and  parted  with  him  at 
the  gate  of  death,  in  joyful  hope  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. 

As  an  example  of  the  heart  of  this  man  in  his 
pastoral  work  I  make  the  following  extract  from 
his  diary : 

"Nov.  4,  1863.— Eeturned  to  town.  Called  at 
brother  Henry  Lewis'.  Stayed  at  brother  J.  O. 
Swinriey's.  Little  Billy  very  ill  of  scarlet  fever. 
The  Lord  spare  him  to  his  fond  parents. 

"  5,  noon. — Billy  is  no  better.  Dined  and  prayed 
with  father  Lewis,  John  and  wife. 

"  6. — Dined  at  Dr.  Walker's.  Visited  brother 
Swackers,  brother  Dunnica's  (Thomas  suffering 
very  much  with  his  arm)  ;  Mr.  Hutcheson  (found 
Rebecca  sick  with  fever) ;  visited  mother  Watts, 
brother  Pitts,  etc.  Little  Willie  Swinney  died 
this  afternoon  at  3  1-2  o'clock — a  lovely  child. 
He  was  five  years  old  the  20th  of  April  last.  I 
hasten  to  offer  such  consolation  to  my  afflicted 
brother  and  sister  as  I  may  be  able.  An  interest- 
ing conversation  with  brother  Swinney,  sister 
Thompson  and  others,  on  the  providence  of  God 


124  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

and  the  state  of  the  pious  dead.  Brother  S. 
tempted  to  doubt  the  goodness  of  God  in  permit- 
ting such  suffering  in  the  case  of  innocent  child- 
hood. Billy  had  learned  to  love  God,  yet  suffered 
so  much.  Is  satisfied  as  he  remembers  the  neces- 
sity for  the  violence  of  the  storm  to  drive  one  into 
port  so  soon,  and  the  eternity  in  which  God  re- 
wards for  these  short  sufferings. 

"  7.— Billy's  funeral  at  2  1-2  o'clock.  The  day 
interspersed  with  pleasant  conversations  about 
him.  Brother  and  sister  S.  resigned  and  tenderly 
submissive.  God's  grace,  so  far,  has  given  victory. 

"  After  religious  services,  with  a  short  address, 
we  buried  little  Billy.  Peace  to  his  ashes ! " 

This  extract  is  literal,  except  that  in  two  or 
three  places  I  have  supplied  connectives  and 
omitted  one  sentence  foreign  to  the  matter. 

Several  other  passages  might  be  culled  from  his 
diary  to  illustrate  the  deep  interest  he  felt  in  all 
the  sorrows  of  the  people  of  his  charge.  He 
rejoiced  with  those  that  did  rejoice,  and  wept  with 
those  who  wept.  Though  of  a  very  joyous  nature 
himself,  he  never  shunned  the  house  of  mourning. 
It  was  better  to  be  found  there  than  at  the  house 
of  mirth.  Yet,  while  he  always  had  sympathy 
to  give,  he  did  not  seem  to  demand  it  for  himself. 
He  was  a  very  self-contained  man.  He  had  a 
helping  hand  for  all  without  seeming  to  expect 
much  help  from  others.  He  was  an  example  of 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  125 

those  two  striking  passages  in  Gal.  vi.  2-7 :  "  Bear 
ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfill  the  law  of 
Christ:"  "for  every  man  shall  bear  his  own  bur- 
den." Resting  on  God  he  bore  his  own  burdens, 
not  weakly  demanding  help  from  every  one  in 
hearing.  Yet  was  his  hand  ever  stretched  out  to 
aid  an  overburdened  brother. 

The  poor  were  never  overlooked  by  him.  At 
one  time  he  was  himself,  to  use  his  own  language, 
in  "  poverty,  bordering  on  want."  The  houses  of 
such  he  never  shunned.  Perhaps  his  own  poverty 
was  part  of  the  training  by  which  God  prepared 
his  heart  for  the  pastoral  office.  Possibly  it  was 
a  better  training  than  a  fall  course  of  Divinity 
would  have  been.  At  any  rate  his  education  was 
not  deficient  in  this  particular  branch  of  it.  He 
knew  the  wants  of  the  destitute,  and  the  sensitive- 
ness and  solicitude  of  modest  and  meritorious 
poverty.  He  knew  how  to  deport  himself  amongst 
them.  They  never  felt  that  Caples  patronized 
them.  He  never  came  with  the  air  of  condescen- 
sion, but  with  the  easy,  natural  manner  of  a  friend. 
He  came  with  the  spirit  of  one  who  came  of  his 
own  choice,  and  not  because  it  was  one  of  "  the 
duties."  Nor  was  his  kindness  in  word  only,  but 
also  in  deed.  Even  when  pressed  in  his  own  cir- 
cumstances he  would  help  the  poor  of  his  Church 
liberally  out  of  his  own  short  supply.  And  there 
was  a  homely  sort  of  rnatter-of-courseness  and  gen- 


126  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

nine  heart  in  the  giving  that  forestalled  all  embar- 
rassment and  awkward,  mortified  self-conscious- 
ness on  the  part  of  the  recipient  of  his  alms. 
Indeed,  it  did  not  seem  to  them  that  they  were 
receiving  alms,  but  rather  a  compliment,  an  ex- 
pression of  friendly  regard.  Of  course  this  refers 
to  the  worthy  poor  of  his  flock,  and  not  to  pro- 
fessional beggars  and  trifling  vagabonds,  whose 
highest  ambition  it  is  to  prey  upon  the  charities 
of  the  preacher.  It  was  a  real  luxury  to  him  to 
divide  the  last  dollar  with  one  who  was  truly  un- 
fortunate. That  his  charities  were  in  deed  and 
not  in  word  only  I  happen  to  know  from  personal 
observation  in  two  or  three  cases ;  and  in  further 
illustration  I  cite  the  private  diary  which  has  been 
placed  in  my  hands. 

"  Dec.  16, 1863.  Visited  sister  C. ;  found  her  in 
trying  circumstances  (in  want);  prayed  for  her 
and  gave  her  $5  in  the  Lord's  name.  Oh!  the 
suffering  poor !  The  Lord  pity  them  this  cold  and 
stormy  day.  The  storm  has  continued  now  forty- 
eight  hours." 

What  a  heart  he  had!  No  man  destitute  of 
true  sympathy  would  have  made  such  a  note  in 
Ids  private  diary.  Beside  this,  these  two  days  of 
winter  were  spent  visiting  the  sick  and  poor.  He 
was  out  a  good  portion  of  both  days.  He  was  no 
hireling,  doing  routine  duty  for  a  piece  of  bread ; 
but  a  faithful  under- shepherd,  caring  for  the  souls 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  127 

and  bodies  of  those  whom  the  Lord  had  bought 
with  his  own  blood.  His  chief  ambition  was  to 
share  the  labors,  and  he  was  ready  even  to  enter 
into  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  in  his  measure,  ever 
looking  forward  to. a  final  participation  of  the  joy 
of  his  Lord. 

An  important  function  of  the  pastoral  office  is 
the  maintaining  of  godly  discipline.  On  this  as 
on  all  subjects  his  views  were  broad  and  compre- 
hensive. He  did  not  understand,  as  some  seem  to 
do,  that  the  administration  of  discipline  consisted 
only  in  expelling  members  to  keep  the  Church 
pure.  He  considered  this  only  as  the  last  resort. 
Sensitive  he  was,  indeed,  to  any  dishonor  the 
Church  might  suffer  from  sin  amongst  the  mem- 
bers. He  was  alive  to  the  purity  of  the  Church. 
Bat  he  did  not  conceive  that  expulsion  of  the 
offender  was  the  only  method  of  maintaining 
purity.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  offender  might  be 
reclaimed,  two  objects  would  be  secured  —  the 
Church  would  be  purified  and  a  soul  saved.  It  is 
as  important  a  work  of  the  Church  to  recover  a 
member  from  his  first  backslidings  as  it  is  to 
bring  sinners  to  Christ.  The  grand  object  of  the 
Church  is  to  save  men,  whether  by  getting  sinners 
converted  at  first  or  saving  them  from  apostasy 
afterward.  This  last  is  not  to  be  accomplished 
by  a  hasty,  harsh  expulsion  on  the  one  hand,  nor 


128  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

by  a  loose,  careless  administration  on  the  other. 
It  must  be  well  understood  that  incorrigible 
offenders  are  to  be  expelled  in  due  time — that  the 
Church  is  not  to  be  tritied  with ;  yet  every  effort 
must  be  made  in  each  case  to  bring  the  delinquent 
to  repentance  and  confession  In  cases  of  infa- 
mous crime,  no  doubt,  the  extreme  penalty  ought 
to  be  promptly  inflicted.  But  in  most  cases  the 
most  prayerful  and  earnest  effort  ought  first  to  be 
made.  Very  often,  probably  in  a  great  majority 
of  cases,  the  labor  will  be  crowned  with  success. 
The  Church  is  more  honored  in  recovering  her 
members  from  their  backslidings  than  just  in 
expelling  the  backslider. 

The  best  thing  of  all  is,  to  keep  the  Church  in  a 
spiritual  state  so  positive  and  high  that  there  will 
be  little  or  no  backsliding.  This  preventive  disci- 
pline is  the  best  of  all  —  infinitely.  The  preacher 
that  does  nothing  to  keep  up  the  spiritual  activity 
and  warmth  of  his  Church,  to  maintain  a  center  of 
spiritual  attraction,  or  to  keep  the  members  alive 
to  their  duty  and  danger,  but  suffers  it  to  sink 
into  inanition,  so  that  when  temptation  comes 
there  is  nothing  to  counteract  it,  and  then  with 
great  satisfaction  resorts  to  the  ax  the  first  thing 
when  one  of  his  young  people  steps  the  least 
aside,  may  have  a  very  comfortable  pride  in  main- 
taining the  purity  of  the  Church.  I  can  not  doubt, 
nevertheless,  that  the  Good  Shepherd  would  have 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  129 

been  much  better  pleased  with  him  if  he  had  kept 
the  lambs  in  good  pasture,  so  that  they  might  not 
have  been  tempted  to  stray. 

All  this  Mr.  Caples  felt.  I  remember  he  said 
to  me  on  one  occasion  that  we  must  keep  some- 
thing going  on  in  the  Church.  We  must  have 
some  point  for  the  young  people  to  rally  to.  A 
mere  negative  condition  will  not  do;  there  must 
be  something  positive.  Keep  up  a  positive  relig- 
ious interest  in  the  Church.  If  we  do  not,  the 
wicked  one  will  create  a  positive  interest  some- 
where else,  and  no  mere  negative  condition  in  the 
Church  will  keep  our  young  people  in  safety.  If 
they  are  suffered  to  fall  into  a  negative  state  in 
the  Church  the  world  will  offer  a  positive  pole, 
and  they  will  gravitate  to  it  in  spite  of  all  threat- 
ening and  scolding.  In  fact,  scolding  will  highten 
the  negative  condition,  and  the  attraction  will  thus 
be  made  all  the  more  irresistible.  But  keep  them 
well  enlisted  in  the  prayer-meeting,  the  class- 
meeting,  the  Bible -class  ;  get  them  to  strive  with 
intelligent  perseverance  for  the  conversion  of  every 
scholar  in  their  Sunday-school  class,  and  you  will 
find  little  or  no  trouble  to  keep  them  from  the 
theater  or  ball-room. 

Well  he  knew  how  destructive  of  all  true  piety 
these  places  are.  They  are  of  the  world — corrupt 
and  corrupting.  No  sophistry  could  blind  him  to 
the  fatal  character  of  all  such  godless  diversions. 


130  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

Young  preachers  are  often  perplexed  by  the 
shallow  but  specious  sophistries  of  those  carnal 
professors  who  defend  dancing  as  an  innocent 
recreation.  Good  people  in  the  Bible  times  danced, 
say  they.  No  one  ever  approached  Mr.  Caples 
with  that  pretext  without  being  made  to  feel  his 
own  wicked  silliness.  To  parade  those  sacred 
dances,  keeping  time  to  the  solemn  pulses  of  re- 
ligious music,  with  constant  praise  of  God,  the 
men  and  women  always  apart,  in  justification  of 
the  modern  dance,  betrayed  either  an  ignorance 
or  a  want  of  candor  that  offered  as  fine  an  object 
for  his  good  humored  but  most  cutting  sarcasm  as 
he  could  ask.  He  was  the  most  skillful  sharp- 
shooter I  ever  saw,  and  such  a  target  always  called 
out  his  most  pungent  wit.  He  certainly  did  have 
the  most  consummate  knack  of  shaming  one  with- 
out offending,  and  these  bare-faced  sophistries  he 
considered  just  occasion  of  such  rebuke.  He 
thought  it  was  the  best  way  they  could  be  treated. 

A  young  lady  once  asked  him  if  he  really 
thought  dancing — just  mere  dancing — dancing  in 
the  abstract,  was  wrong.  Poor  child !  I  felt  sorry 
for  her.  And  yet  there  was  an  undertone  of  ten- 
derness in  all  he  said  that  had  a  most  happy 
effect.  The  question,  he  said,  was  not  pertinent. 
What  she  was  seeking  to  justify  was  not  just 
'mere  dancing,  it  was  dancing  for  pleasure;  men 
and  women  dancing  together  to  the  strains  of 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  131 

voluptuous,  not  to  say  lascivious,  music,  with 
suggestive  touch  and  movement,  the  whole  scene 
so  sensuous  that  it  is  actually  sensual.  Even 
Gibbon  says  that  the  midnight  dance,  with  its 
accompanying  incidents,  offers  "both  the  tempta- 
tion and  the  opportunity  to  female  frailty.  Many 
a  young  member  of  the  Church  was  saved  by  the 
plain  and  faithful  warnings  of  this  servant  of 
God  from  the  fatal  fascination  of  this  most  insidi- 
ous snare  of  the  devil. 

He  had  no  patience  with  circuses  and  circus 
goers.  The  grossness  and  vulgarity  of  them  he 
considered  as  most  hurtful  to  piety  and  damaging 
to  delicacy.  It  pained  him  for  any  lady  friend  to 
go.  He  felt  that  she  must  come  away  with  some 
loss  of  womanly  sensibility. 

I  remember  that,  in  Dr.  M'Anally's  office,  when 
he  was  in  St.  Louis  on  his  agency  of  Central  Col- 
lege, he  condemned,  in  most  unmeasured  terms, 
our  agricultural  fairs.  He  maintained  that  while 
they  might  in  some  slight  measure  promote  the 
improvement  of  valuable  farm  products  and  stock, 
they  would  a  thousand  times  more  stimulate  horse- 
racing  and  gambling.  He  would  no  more  encour- 
age them  than  he  would  the  race  course.  "When 
occasion  offered  he  did  not  hesitate  to  denounce 
them  from  the  pulpit.  In  doing  so  he  encountered 
a  clamorous  public  opinion,  both  in  and  out  of  the 
Church.  But  he  never  quailed  before  public  opin- 


132  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

ion.  He  was  true  to  his  own  convictions.  When 
they  were  clear  and  well  settled  he  would  announce 
them  in  the  face  of  any  sort  of  derision,  and  stand 
by  them  against  any  weight  of  social  pressure. 

At  the  time  I  differed  from  him  as  to  the  character 
and  tendency  of  the  agricultural  fairs.  But  I  have 
lived  to  see  that  he  was  right  and  I  was  wrong. 
And  here,  while  I  commemorate  the  wisdom  of 
my  departed  brother,  I  renew  his  warnings.  I 
do  most  solemnly  and  earnestly  advise  Christian 
men  to  keep  clear  of  these  places,  and  above  all 
to  keep  their  sons  away  from  such  schools  of  vice. 

In  Caples'  hand  the  trumpet  gave  no  uncertain 
note.  He  never  destroyed  the  force  of  his  own 
warnings  by  lowering  his  voice  before  imposing 
contradiction.  No  prestige  of  personal  opposition 
could  cause  him  to  lower  his  front  or  bate  the 
utterance.  The  truth  was  of  God ;  with  God  he 
could  stand  against  the  whole  world. 

It  will  appear  from  what  has  been  written  that 
he  had  strict  views  of  the  Chistian  life.  This  is 
true.  It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  he  was  an  ascetic. 
Very  far  from  it.  He  concurred  most  heartily  in  Mr. 
Wesley's  condemnation  of  "  such  diversions  as  can 
not  be  used  in  the  Name  of  the  Lord  Jesus."  Espe- 
cially did  he  condemn  all  that  class  of  amusements 
which  tend  to  immorality.  Amongst  them  he 
placed  the  dance,  the  theater,  the  circus  and  card 
.playing.  He  was  also  opposed  to  the  habit  of 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  133 

playing  chess,  back-gammon  and  the  like,  as  a 
useless  frittering  away  of  time.  Such  recreation 
as  involved  healthy  exercise  and  did  not  lead  to 
gambling  he  did  not  condemn,  unless  it  was  car- 
ried to  an  extent  that  involved  too  much  time  and 
was  an  actual  dissipation. 

He  saw  the  necessity  of  keeping  the  Christian 
life  free  from  worldly  tendencies.  Whatever  sub- 
ordinated the  spirit  to  the  flesh  and  made  carnal 
things  a  capital  object  of  pursuit  was  to  be  con- 
demned. He  knew  that  if  young  people  began  to 
run  eagerly  after  mere  pleasure  the  spiritual  life 
would  wane.  The  heart  filled  up  with  such  vain 
desires  has  little  room  for  Christ.  Sobriety  is  a 
prime  element  of  the  Christian  character. 

Sobriety,  not  gloominess.  There  is  a  distinct 
boundary,  not  easily  described  in  generalities,  but 
easily  discerned  in  actual  life,  beyond  which  cheer- 
fulness degenerates  into  levity  —  into  chaffiness. 
Solidity  of  character  is  lost.  This  is  incompatible 
with  true  religion. 

Our  brother  was  a  most  joyous  man.  Perhaps 
we  must  admit  that  he  had  this  trait  in  excess. 
Naturally  there  was  in  him  the  most  exuberant 
mirthfulness.  Perhaps  he  had  not  sufficiently  re- 
strained this  disposition.  I  believe,  in  fact,  he 
had  not.  But  yet  he  saw  most  clearly  that  the 
Christian  character  must  be  preserved  from  such 
associations  as  lead  to  excessive  gaiety.  Life  with 


134  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

him  could  be  very  bright  on  the  social  side  and 
yet  not  given  up  to  pleasures  of  this  world.  Cheer- 
ful, witty  conversation  he  could  sometimes  indulge 
and  yet  not  become  a  "lover  of  pleasure  more 
than  a  lover  of  God." 

His  views  of  Church  discipline,  therefore,  con- 
templated the  most  positive  restraint  upon  the 
natural  tendency  of  the  human  heart  to  forget 
God  in  worldly  follies.  He  well  knew  that  a 
Church  of  dancing  people  and  theater  goers  would 
have  no  spiritual  life.  All  sober,  earnest  conse- 
cration of  soul  and  body  to  God  would  be  out  of 
the  question.  Religious  joy  would  die  out  and 
earthly  follies  take  its  place.  Heaven,  in  any  true 
spiritual  view  of  it,  would  cease  to  be  the  great 
object  of  hope.  He  felt  that  the  Church  must 
curb  with  a  steady  hand  the  strong  tendencies 
evermore  present  in  this  evil  direction. 

It  will  never  be  laid  to  his  charge  in  the  last  day 
that  he  was  too  cowardly  to  take  a  bold,  firm  stand 
on  this  subject.  We  must  follow  his  example 
in  this  matter.  As  wealth  increases  in  the  Church 
the  pressure  upon  discipline  in  these  respects 
will  become  greater.  Great  firmness  will  be  re- 
quired in  the  young  people  of  the  Church  to  resist 
social  beguilement.  The  pastor  must  be  a  man 
of  no  little  courage  to  avow  himself  unequivocally 
in  every  presence. 

But  if  he  shall  falter  the  world  will  come  in  like 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  .      135 

a  flood.  All  deep  spiritual  consciousness  will  be 
lost.  We  will  no  longer  be  a  "  peculiar  people, 
zealous  of  good  works."  We  will  come  to  be 
ashamed  of  being  peculiar.  We  will  then  no 
longer  be  Methodists.  We  will  no  longer  be 
Christians.  We  will  just  be  of  the  world — proud, 
vain,  carnal.  Scripture  holiness  will  be  at  an  end 
with  us.  May  every  preacher  be  as  firm  and  full 
of  courage  in  this  matter  as  Caples  was. 

If  ever  we  are  shorn  of  our  strength  by  con- 
formity to  the  world,  the  apostasy  will  lie  at  the 
door  of  the  preachers.  It  will  be  when  they  be- 
come pusillanimous  and  shrink  before  the  sneers 
of  the  ungodly  in  and  out  of  the  Church  that  the 
evil  time  will  be  upon  us.  When  we  cease  to  be 
willing  to  be  the  filth  and  ofiscouring  of  the  world 
we  will  begin  to  make  terms  with  the  world,  and 
Methodist  discipline,  experience  and  purity  will 
all  go  together.  Then  the  Wesleyan  work  will 
be  at  an  end,  and  God  will  have  to  raise  up  some 
other  people  to  do  the  work  that  we  will  be  no 
longer  able  to  do. 

I  dwell  on  this  subject  because  it  is  vital.  We 
are  in  greater  danger  here,  as  I  have  no  doubt, 
than  at  any  other  point.  The  problem  of  personal 
salvation  lies  in  great  part  in  the  fact  of  self-denial. 
It  will  do  us  no  good  to  be  worldly  people  in  the 
Church.  If  we  are  determined  to  be  wordly  people 
at  all  hazards,  it  is  far  better  to  sail  under  the 


136  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

world's  colors  at  once.  If  we  are  of  the  world  in 
heart  and  practice,  to  belong  to  the  Church  is  only 
an  affectation  —  a  hypocrisy.  If  the  devil  is  our 
master,  let  us  openly  confess  him.  "  If  the  Lord 
be  God,  serve  Him,  but  if  Baal,  serve  him."  Let 
us  not  mingle  the  stench  of  the  world  with  the 
incense  that  goes  up  from  the  altars  of  God.  If 
we  offer  a  vain  oblation,  the  stench  of  a  carnal 
devotion,  let  us  lay  it  boldly  on  the  altars  of  Baal. 

One  capital  qualification  of  a  good  pastor  Mr.' 
Caples  had  in  the  iact  of  his  industry.  He  was 
no  idler.  There  was  but  one  way  in  which  he  was 
tempted  to  spend  time  unprofitably.  That  won- 
derfully susceptible  social  nature  of  his  never 
tired  of  conversation  with  congenial  spirits.  I  am 
sure  he  wasted  time  in  this  way.  But  he  was  no 
mere  lounger.  He  was  essentially  active.  In  the 
midst  of  his  charge  he  would  be  employed  either 
in  his  studies  or  in  domestic  duties,  or  in  visiting. 
The  diary,  so  often  referred  to  already,  shows 
great  activity. 

It  shows  also  the  liveliest  interest  in  the  prayer 
and  class  meetings,  and  in  the  Sunday-school. 
He  often  refers  to  the  social  meetings  as  precious 
seasons,  mentions  whether  they  were  well  at- 
tended or  not,  and  makes  remarks  which  show  his 
high  estimate  of  them.  He  organized  a  Bible  class 
of  the  Sunday-school  teachers,  to  aid  them  in  pre- 
paring the  lessons,  so  that  they  might  more  ade- 
quately instruct  their  classes.  Not  only  was  he 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  137 

habitually  in  attendance  at  the  Sunday-school, 
"but  often,  also,  at  their  special  meetings  for  sing- 
ing. The  freshness  of  his  spirit,  the  tenderness  of 
his  heart,  caused  an  unflagging  interest  in  chil- 
dren. He  was  idolized  by  the  young  people  of 
his  congregations.  They  were  always  glad  when 
he  noticed  them,  and  his  word  had  great  weight 
with  them. 

I  mention  all  these  matters  under  the  head  of 
"  discipline."  This,  as  I  understand  it,  is  where 
they  belong.  That  Church  is  under  good  disci- 
pline where  every  method  is  resorted  to  and  every 
agency  brought  into  play  to  elevate  the  tone  and 
augment  the  activity  and  spirituality  of  the 
Church.  By  whatever  means  the  pastor  gains  a 
legitimate  influence  with  the  young,  so  that  he 
may  restrain  them  from  evil,  so  that  his  voice  may 
be  potential  with  them  in  shaping  their  character, 
he  may  turn  it  to  high  account  in  maintaining 
godly  discipline.  And  how  much  better  is  this, 
on  every  account,  than  to  make  all  discipline  to 
consist  only  in  Church  censures,  trials  and  expul- 
sions. He  is  the  best  disciplinarian  who  avoids 
this  as  far  as  possible  by  leading  his  Church  into 
such  a  state  as  shall  bring  about  few  or  no  occa- 
sions for  extreme  remedies. 

Many  hundreds  who  read  this  book  will  lo  so 
with  devout  gratitude,  thanking  God  that  in  His 
merciful  Providence  they  ever  had  this  man  for 
their  pastor. 


138  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE     PRESIDING    ELDER. 

At  the  Conference  of  1851  Mr.  Caples  received 
his  first  appointment  as  Presiding  Elder.  His 
field  was  the  Weston  District,  which  he  had  in 
charge  for  four  successive  years.  Then,  after  an 
interval  of  three  years,  he  was  appointed  on  the 
Fayette  District,  where  he  remained  but  one  year. 
After  another  interval,  of  one  year,  he  was  placed 
on  the  Brunswick  District,  which  he  served  three 
years.  This  last  term  was,  however,  greatly  in- 
terrupted by  the  war.  He  held  this  office  eight 
years  in  all.  The  history  of  his  administration 
in  this  office  well  deserves  a  separate  chapter. 
My  data  is  not  so  full  as  I  wish  it  was,  otherwise 
this  chapter  might  be  invested  with  greater  inter- 
est. Still  I  shall  give  the  material  I  have,  and 
feel  well  assured  that  it  has  sufficient  value  to 
justify  the  prominence  I  give  it. 

From  the  first  there  have  not  been  wanting  men 
who  have  doubted  the  utility  of  this  part  of  our 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  139 

Church  economy.  It  has  been  characterized  as  a 
fifth  wheel.  Especially  is  this  feeling  found  to 
exist  in  the  cities.  It  has  been  often  affirmed  that 
the  Presiding  Elder  does  no  good.  His  quota 
must  be  paid,  adding  to  the  burdens  of  the 
Church,  while  he  accomplishes  nothing  to  com- 
pensate the  outlay.  Often  the  stationed  preacher 
fills  the  pulpit  better  and  more  acceptably  than 
he,  and  the  quarterly  meeting  is  an  occasion 
not  felt  in  the  Church.  Therefore,  why  take  a 
man  out  of  the  regular  pastorate  where  he  might 
do  much  good,  and  give  him  this  office  in  which 
he  does  none  ? 

This  argument  takes  for  granted  as  a  fa'ct  what 
can  by  no  means  be  admitted.  That  many  Pre- 
siding Elders  do,  apparently,  little  or  no  good 
may  be  granted.  The  same  is  unfortunately  true 
of  many  pastors.  Too  many  men  on  Districts 
render  only  a  perfunctory  service.  'They  do  not 
take  hold  of  things  with  the  spirit  that  insures 
results.  They  attend  the  quarterly  meetings, 
preach  Saturday  morning  ( may  be )  and  Sunday 
morning,  go  through  the  business  of  the  quarterly 
Conference  in  a  languid  way,  hold  the  love  feast, 
receive  their  "  quota,"  and  take  their  departure, 
not  greatly  regretted.  This  is  the  history  of  too 
much  District  work.  Yet  it  may  be  maintained 
that  even  this  species  of  service  has  considerable 
value.  It  holds  the  administration  of  the  pas- 


140  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

toral  charges  to  a  responsibility  that  has  a 
wholesome  effect.  It  brings  the  affairs  of  the 
Church  under  official  review,  and  in  that  way 
secures  an  attention  to  many  important  interests 
that  would  be  otherwise  left  at  loose  ends.  A 
good  many  things  are  done  because  the  quarterly 
meeting  is  coming  on.  But  for  this  spur  they 
would  not  be  done  at  all.  The  condition  of  the 
Church,  of  the  Sunday-schools,  of  the  finances, 
is  brought  under  review.  There  is  something  in 
human  nature  that  recognizes  the  prestige  of 
office,  and  respects  it.  "  Governments "  are  of 
divine  ordination,  and  one  of  the  chief  securities 
of  government  is  found  in  that  sentiment  which  is 
ineradicable,  and  which  is  an  essential  constituent 
of  our  very  being — the  sentiment  of  reverence  for 
dignities.  The  official  character  of  the  Presiding 
Elder,  though  as  a  man  he  may  have  no  great 
weight,  has  a  good  effect  in  causing  the  business 
of  the  Church  to  be  attended  to  and  keeping 
some  vitality  in  the  organization. 

But,  as  a  general  rule,  the  Presiding  Elder  is  a 
man  whose  intelligence,  industry  and  personal 
character  enable  him  to  exert  an  influence  be- 
yond that  which  attaches  to  his  office.  His  intel- 
ligent eye  discovers  much  that  is  loose  and  dam- 
aging in  the  management  of  Church  interests  as 
the  business  passes  tinder  his  review  in  the  quar- 
terly meetings  and  conferences,  and  he  interposes 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  141 

an  authority  that  is  corrective.  The  very  fact 
that  affairs  will  be  brought  under  his  eye  prevents 
much  loose  administration  in  the  circuit  or  sta- 
tion. I  am  sure  that  this  office  promotes  thor- 
oughness of  organization.  The  value  of  this,  per- 
haps, few  comprehend.  It  has  been  observed 
with  perfect  truth  that  Mr.  Whitfield's  work  soon 
came  to  nothing,  while  Mr.  Wesley's  continues 
and  extends  itself  even  to  this  present.  Yet  the 
immediate  effect  of  Whitfield's  preaching  was 
greater  than  that  of  Wesley's.  One  word  explains 
the  whole  matter — organization  Whitfield  did 
not  organize  in  any  efficient  way,  while  the  world 
has  rarely  had  such  an  organizer  as  Wesley  was. 
The  organization  that  he  effected  conserved  the 
fruits  of  his  ministry,  and  put  them  in  condition 
to  be  reproductive.  Organization  conserves  vi- 
tality and  renders  it  reproductive.  This  law  is 
fundamental  in  human  society.  It  is  fundamental 
in  nature.  Nothing  preserves  itself  amongst  the 
active  forces  of  this  world  that  is  not  organized. 
Nothing  developes  otherwise.  No  life  accom- 
plishes anything  that  is  not  posited  in  organic 
forms. 

The  Methodist  itinerancy  is  a  singularly  com- 
pact, well  contrived,  vigorous,  reproductive  organ- 
ization. Its  utmost  vitality  has  been  realized  in 
America,  where  the  Presiding  Eldership  is  incor- 
porated into  it.  Those  Methodist  bodies  that 


142  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

have  discarded  it  in  this  country  have  never 
done  well.  The  fault  is,  the  itinerant  organiza- 
tion is  not  complete  without  it.  The  fifth  wheel 
is  indispensable.  Its  regulating  and  balancing 
function  is  vital.  It  prevents  friction  and  derange- 
ment, and  keeps  things  in  good  tone. 

If  the  incumbent  be  a  man  of  good  administra- 
tive ability  he  will  start  new  enterprises  every 
here  and  there  and  impart  new  vitality  to  old 
ones,  and  the  Church  will  go  forward  with  more 
and  more  vigor,  and  a  better  growth,  through  the 
agency  of  every  new  activity  set  on  foot.  It  is  a 
thing  greatly  to  be  desired  that  this  officer  should 
be  a  man  who  can  comprehend  the  possibilities  of 
the  situation  in  each  charge  of  his  District.  There 
are  agencies  at  hand  every  where  which  escape 
the  notice  of  most  men,  and  which,  if  brought  into 
requisition,  would  insure  prosperity.  "We  have 
all  known  Presiding  Elders,  a  few  of  them,  who 
excelled  in  this.  Sometimes  the  men  most  suc- 
cessful in  this  office  are  no  great  preachers ;  but 
they  have  an  instinct  of  organization  and  admin- 
istration that  makes  them  a  power.  They  seem 
to  have  been  made  to  have  work  done.  They 
work  with  a  will  themselves,  and  put  springs 
into  everything  they  touch.  This  class  of  men, 
men  of  fine  administrative  faculty,  realize  fully 
the  value  of  this  office. 

If,  in  addition  to  this,  again,  they  have  unusual 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  143 

power  in  the  pnlpit,  there  is  an  effectual  door 
open  for  them.  In  this  case  the  quarterly  meet- 
ings are  fruitful  occasions,  especially  in  smaller 
towns  and  country  places.  Who  is  there  in  the 
West  that  has  not  many  recollections  of  such 
occasions  ?  The  Church  is  edified.  Religion  takes 
deeper  root.  The  way  is  prepared  for  revivals. 
Very  often  the  work  begins  under  the  labors  of 
the  "  Elder."  The  doctrines  of  the  Church  are 
vindicated  and  established  by  his  preaching. 
Every  thing  is  toned  up,  and  the  operations  of 
the  Church  acquire  new  force. 

Many  a  preacher,  perplexed  and  discouraged  in 
Ms  work,  particularly  of  the  younger  class  of 
preachers,  has  been  enheartened  and  set  forward 
with  a  new  hope  and  a  fresh  zeal  by  the  quarterly 
visits  of  his  superior  officer.  Many  a  steward  and 
class  leader  has  been  made  to  realize  the  obliga- 
tions of  his  office  under  the  admonitions  given  in 
quarterly  Conference. 

Movements  may  often  be  set  on  foot  having  a 
wider  scope  than  the  limits  of  a  single  charge. 
Large  results  may  often  be  secured  by  concen- 
trating the  agencies  to  be  found  scattered  over  a 
considerable  area.  The  connectional  character  of 
the  Methodist  organization,  especially  as  it  ap- 
pears in  the  form  of  a  District,  may  often  be  made 
available  for  most  important  ends.  It  often  em- 
braces a  scope  of  country  just  large  enough  to  be 


144  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

* 

kept  well  in  hand  and  concentrated  on  one  object. 
Let  it  be,  for  instance,  the  building  up  of  a  school 
of  high  grade. 

Much  that  has  been  accomplished  in  the  last 
few  years  in  the  St.  Louis  District  has  been  done 
by  this  sort  of  concentration.  The  Missionary 
work  was  for  some  time  done  with  a  good  degree 
of  efficiency.  The  sagacious  administration  of 
Rev.  T.  M.  Finney,  making  available  this  connec- 
tional  feature  of  our  polity,  secured  the  erection  of 
St.  John's  Church,  and  so  added  another  prosper- 
ous congregation  to  our  existence  in  St.  Louis. 
Thus,  much  of  the  growth  and  power  of  Methodism 
has  resulted,  unquestionably,  from  this  office. 

As  a  Presiding  Elder  Mr.  Caples  magnified  his 
office.  He  was  always  thinking  or  working  for 
the  Church.  Pull  of  plans,  he  was  also  fruitful 
of  resources  in  executing  them.  The  whole 
Church  in  the  District  lay  upon  his  heart  night 
and  day.  He  could  never  rest  unless  the  ark  of 
the  Lord  was  moving  forward.  The  troubles  of 
the  Church  were  his  troubles,  her  successes  were 
his  triumphs. 

He  seemed  to  charge  himself  with  every  inter- 
est of  the  Church  in  his  District,  Any  want  of 
prosperity  in  the  most  obscure  places  would  trou- 
ble him.  Nothing  short  of  activity  and  progress 
at  every  point  satisfied  him.  Tie  animated  the 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  145 

preachers  by  word  and  example.     He  exhorted 
the  official  memLers  to  zeal  and  diligence. 

The  finances  of  the  several  charges  were  never 
overlooked.  He  had  had  bitter  experience  in  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry — had  been  literally 
starved  out.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  preachers,  no 
doubt,  to  economize  closely,  to  live  on  the  least 
possible  amount ;  but  then  there  was  a  minimum 
below  which  no  pressure  could  reduce  expenses. 
To  go  in  debt  was  ruinous.  A  preacher  in  debt, 
with  no  resources  but  what  the  Church  is  likely 
to  give  him,  has  little  prospect  of  paying ;  and  to 
go  in  "debt  without  a  probability  of  paying" 
is  not  strictly  honest.  The  preacher  must  be 
strictly  honest.  Otherwise  he  is  himself  want- 
ing in  a  fundamental  virtue  while  he  is  a 
teacher  of  Christian  purity.  In  view  of  all  this 
he  brought  the  full  weight  of  his  great  personal 
influence  to  bear  to  raise  for  each  preacher  in 
his  District  so  much  as  would  subsist  his  family. 
He  did  great  good  in  this  way.  The  views  of  the 
Church  were  elevated,  and  the  effect  of  his  labor 
at  this  point  is  still  apparent.  To  secure  this 
result  he  labored  both  with  the  official  members 
in  the  quarterly  conferences  and  with  the  Church 
generally  in  the  public  congregations.  As  Pre- 
siding Elder  he  could  talk  freely  on  this  subject 
in  the  pulpit.  This  the  pastor  could  not  do  with- 
out giving  offense,  on  account  of  his  direct  inter- 
10 


146  LIFE     OP     CAPLE8. 

est  in  the  result.  In  this  office,  however,  he  could 
appear  as  the  advocate  of  the  pastor  with  the 
utmost  propriety.  For  the  following  instance  of 
labor  in  this  department  I  am  indebted  to  Rev. 
S.  W.  Cope : 

At  a  camp-meeting  in  Howard  county,  in  1859, 
"  he  made  a  most  singular  and  effective  appeal  to 
the  stewards  in  this  wise :  They  stand  in  the  fu- 
ture general  Judgment.  The  Judge  asks,  '  Where 
were  you  living  in  the  year  1859?'  'In  Howard 
county,  Missouri.'  '  Did  you  have  any  preaching 
that  year?'  'Yes,  Lord.'  '  Who  were  your  preach- 
ers ? '  '  Brothers  Cope  and  McMurry.'  '  How  much 
did  you  allow  them  as  a  necessary  support?' 
'  We  fixed  the  claim  of  the  two  at  one  thousand 
dollars.'  '  Did  you  pay  them  that  amount  ? '  '  No, 
Lord,  we  lacked  a  hundred  dollars  or  more.' 
'  Did  your  preachers  do  you  a  good  year's  work  ? ' 
'  Yes,  Lord,  we  believe  they  did  the  best  they  could.' 
'  Was  there  not  means  enough  in  the  Church  to 
pay  them  their  entire  claim  ? '  '  Yes,  Lord.'  '  Why, 
then,  did  you  allow  them  to  go  away  unpaid?' 
They  were  speechless.  This  appeal  was  most 
singular  and  wonderful  in  its  manner  and  effect. 
The  amount  was  nearly  or  quite  all  made  up  in  a 
few  minutes,  one  man  not  a  member  of  the  Church 
giving  twenty  dollars." 

It  must  ever  be  borne  in  mind  in  reading  inci- 
dents of  this  class  that  not  even  what  he  said  can 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  147 

be  accurately  given  from  memory,  much  less  how 
he  said  it,  and  with  what  vivacity  and  pathos. 

Brother  John  Stone,  of  Plattsburg,  referring  to 
his  having  to  cut  cord  wood  at  one  time  to  pay 
his  debts,  says :  "  This  incident  in  his  life  served 
him  a  great  purpose  in  after  years,  when  Presiding 
Elder  of  our  district,  in  raising  Conference  claims. 
He  always  presented  ministers  of  the  Conference 
as  a  living,  active  body,  who,  rather  than  starve 
out,  would  chop  out;  but  the  poor,  worn  out 
preachers,  widows  and  orphans  must  starve  with- 
out assistance,  for  they  had  no  bonus  to  depend 
on,  as  the  life  of  the  itinerant  minister  was  all 
worldly  sacrifice  without  gain." 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was. not  only 
the  support  of  the  preachers  in  the  active  work 
that  he  looked  after,  but  that  he  took  in  the  whole 
department  of  Church  finances.  He  was  especially 
alive  to  the  Missionary  work.  In  the  same  letter 
brother  Stone  writes :  "  I  well  remember,  at  a  dis- 
trict camp-mpeting  at  Mt.  Moriah,  a  Missionary 
sermon  which  he  preached  on  Sabbath  had  such 
a  powerful  effect  on  the  congregation  that  they 
were  imperceptibly  drawn  around  the  stand,  and 
the  whole  congregation,  consisting  of  about  four 
thousand  persons,  were  all  standing  on  their  feet. 
He  made  a  call  for  Missionary  money  and  raised 
two  hundred  dollars."  Be  it  remembered  this  was 
in  a  country  comparatively  new,  and  where  money 


148  LIFE    OF    CAPLE8. 

did  not  abound  as  it  does  now.  Two  hundred 
dollars  at  once,  then  and  there,  was  the  next  thing 
to  a  miracle. 

So,  as  will  elsewhere  appear,  he  neglected  no 
interest  of  the  Church,  but  delivered  the  full 
force  of  his  being  upon  every  object  of  import- 
ance to  the  cause  of  his  Master. 

Brother  Stone  adds:  "It  is  my  opinion  that  the 
Church  has  furnished  to  the  world  but  few  of  his 
equals."  I  agree  with  him. 

He  took  a  lively  interest  in  every  preacher  in 
his  district.  They  were  all  his  boys — at  least  the 
younger  ones.  If  there  was  a  sort  of  patronizing 
of  them,  it  was  accompanied  with  a  spirit  so  genial 
and  a  friendship  so  whole-souled  that  they  never 
regarded  it.  While  ever  they  did  about  right 
they  were  sure  of  a  champion  in  him.  He  would 
correct  their  faults,  rally  them  upon  their  weak- 
nesses, ridicule  their  foibles,  and  strive  to  bring 
them  up  to  a  high  standard  of  intelligence,  purity 
and  usefulness;  and  then  before  the  public,  in 
their  work,  at  Conference,  he  was  their  friend  and 
advocate. 

The  sufferings  and  self-denials  of  the  preachers 
touched  him.  If  one  of  his  preacher*,  especially 
one  having  a  family,  endured  unusual  privations, 
and  bore  it  all  cheerfully  for  the  work's  sake,  the 
man  was  thenceforth  enthroned  in  Caples'  affec- 
tions. More  than  once  he  related  an  incident  of 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  149 

Rev.  M.  R.  Jones,  now  of  the  Illinois  Conference. 
He  went  to  brother  Jones'  circuit  to  hold  a  quar- 
terly meeting,  taking  his  wife  along  with  him. 
They  found  the  preacher  in  a  poor  hovel.  The 
weather  was  severe.  The  circuit  had  made  no  pro- 
vision for  any  comfortable  house  for  the  preacher. 
But  Jones  had  what  Caples,  in  his  good  humored 
way,  called  grit.  He  did  not  understand  that  he 
was  called  to  preach  on  condition  of  the  Church 
doing  its  duty  by  him.  God  had  laid  on  him  the  re- 
sponsibility of  the  sacred  office.  He  must  meet  it. 
If  he  could  put  his  family  in  a  comfortable  house 
he  would  be  thankful.  If  not,  still  he  must  preach, 
for  his  vocation  was  from  God.  Better  that  he 
and  his  family  should  live  poor  than  that  he  should 
betray  the  trust  committed  to  him.  That  is  a  sub- 
lime faith  in  which  a  faithful  husband  and  tender 
father  commits  his  family  to  the  care  of  the  Great 
Head  of  the  Church  in  the  face  of  suffering.  How 
it  contrasts  with  the  course  of  those  who  refuse  to 
suffer  for  Christ's  sake  and  turn  to  some  secular 
calling  unless  a  fat  salary  is  guaranteed. 

Brother  and  sister  Jones,  with  their  little  ones, 
were  crowded  around  the  fire  in  their  poor  cabin, 
all  cheerful,  taking  joyfully  the  incidents  of  their 
high  calling,  however  trying  to  flesh  and  blood. 
The  Presiding  Elder  and  his  wife  were  welcomed 
to  such  hospitalities  as  the  place  afforded,  and 
shared  the  self-denials  of  the  preacher's  family 


150  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

with  a  sense  of  the  preciousness  of  the  fellowship 
of  saints  which  might  have  been  wanting  in  a 
better  house.  How  these  common  trials  endear 
men  to  each  other!  Ever  after  that  these  men 
were  as  David  and  Jonathan  to  each  other. 

Rest  assured  the  finances  had  an  overhauling 
at  that  quarterly  meeting.  I  can  imagine  how  he 
talked  and  with  what  hearty  interest  he  set  him- 
self to  get  the  preacher  comfortably  provided — 
not  withholding  personal  aid. 

He  took  a  fatherly  interest  in  young  men  who 
were  looking  to  the  ministry.  I  believe  I  never 
knew  a  man  who  showed  so  much  gratification  in 
bringing  men  of  more  than  ordinary  promise  into 
the  Conference.  His  face  beamed  all  over  when 
he  introduced  the  names  of  such.  No  father  could 
be  more  gratified  in  a  son  than  he  was  in  the 
lamented  H.  H.  Hedgepeth.  He  thought  he  had 
unearthed  a  gem.  Nor  was  he  mistaken.  The 
boy  proved  to  be  all  that  his  great  friend  pre- 
dicted. 

A  pleasant  incident  occurred  in  connection  with 
the  introduction  of  Hedgepeth  into  the  Confer- 
ence, which  many  of  the  preachers  still  remem- 
ber. When  his  case  was  up  for  admission  on 
trial,  Caples,  among  other  commendatory  traits 
of  the  young  brother,  announced  that  he  was  not 
going  to  get  married  for  four  years  at  least.  He 
had,  without  hesitation,  given  a  distinct  pledge  to 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  151 

that  effect.  In  the  course  of  the  year  the  Advo- 
cate contained  a  notice  of  the  marriage  of  Rev. 
H.  H.  Hedgepeth.  At  the  following  session  of  the 
Conference  his  Presiding  Elder,  Caples,  gave  a 
most  flattering  account  of  him  as  a  man  and 
preacher,  and  sat  down.  Some  one  rose  and 
asked  how  about  the  pledge  to  remain  unmar- 
ried for  four  years.  Either  there  was  a  mistake 
abroad  or  the  young  brother  had  violated  his 
pledge,  which  was  an  offense  against  good  morals. 
Caples  laughed  after  a  manner  peculiar  to  him- 
self. "  Mr.  President,"  said  he,  "  I  hoped  no  one 
would  remember  that."  He  then  proceeded  to 
inform  the  Conference  that  he  had  taken  the 
young  brother  to  task  on  the  s abject,  and  that  he 
had  denied  having  made  any  such  promise. 
"  Why  you  certainly  did."  "  Indeed,  I  did  not. 
You  never  asked  me  to  make  such  a  promise. 
You  asked  me  if  I  could  let  the  girls  alone  for 
four  years,  and  I  told  you  that  I  could,  but  never 
said  I  would."  Caples  was  outwitted,  and  en- 
joyed it  prodigiously.  Nevertheless  he  most 
earnestly  and  wisely  dissuaded  the  young  preach- 
ers from  marriage  until  they  had  attained  to  such 
a  character  in  the  Conference  as  would  command 
work  that  might  afford  subsistence  for  a  family. 
Many  a  poor  fellow  has  been  in  great  straits  in 
his  early  ministry — many  a  one  driven  to  loca- 


152  LIFE     OP     CAPLES. 

tion — from  pursuing  the  opposite  course.  Alas ! 
that  men  should  learn  only  from  experience. 

His  quarterly  meetings,  especially  in  the  coun- 
try, were  great  gatherings  of  the  people.  His 
fame  as  a  preacher  was  such  that  the  whole 
country  would  assemble.  The  official  and  other 
members  came  from  the  remotest  portions  of  cir- 
cuits, and  for  miles  around  the  place  of  preach- 
ing the  roads  were  alive  with  people  on  Sunday 
morning,  the  moving  multitudes  converging  to  a 
common  centre. 

His  energy  and  punctuality  in  meeting  his  ap- 
pointments are  well  illustrated  by  the  following 
amusing  anecdote,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to 
Rev.  W.  G.  Miller : 

"  While  he  was  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Weston 
District  he  had  to  pass  from  Gentry  to  Nodaway 
county,  along  the  Iowa  line.  It  was  in  midwinter. 
He  had  a  ride  of  near  forty  miles  to  meet  his  next 
quarterly  meeting.  So,  sunshine  or  storm,  he 
must  go.  The  route  was  entirely  new  to  him. 
There  was  no  leading  road.  Indeed,  it  was  un- 
broken prairie. 

"  So  he  must  take  the  chances  of  keeping  his 
course  without  a  single  way  mark  to  guide  him, 
or  missing  his  way  and  spending  the  night  on  the 
naked  prairie,  with  a  fair  prospect  of  freezing. 
But  nothing  daunted,  he  started  off,  holding  his 
general  course  as  best  he  could,  facing  a  driving 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  153 

northwest  snow  storm,  over  boundless  prairies, 
unbroken  by  a  single  pathway.  But  the  snow 
was  drifting  into  heaps  in  all  the  low  places,  so 
that  he  often  found  it  difficult  making  headway. 
Thus  obstructed,  long  before  his  journey  was  ended 
he  found  night  coming  on.  But  fortunately  he 
was  now  occasionally  crossing  a  narrow  neck  of 
timber  running  up  some  little  prairie  ravine.  But 
no  sign  of  human  habitation  was  to  be  seen.  His 
situation  was  rendered  still  more  desolate  by  his 
frequently  hearing  the  howling  of  wolves,  and 
there  is  nothing  more  desolate  in  this  world  than 
the  lonely  howling  of  a  wolf  on  one  of  our  wide 
prairies  as  night  begins  to  darken  upon  you.  A 
single  wolf  will  so  change  his  tone  that  you  will 
think  there  are  a  whole  half-score  of  them  in  a 
pack. 

"  But,  fortunately,  as  the  twilight  was  deepening 
into  the  gloom  of  night,  he  came  upon  the  lonely 
habitation  of  a  backwoodsman  in  one  of  these 
skirts  of  timber.  It  stood  all  alone,  with  no  out- 
house or  stable  or  barn — a  single  round-pole 
cabin  He  rode  up  and  halloed.  The  man  opened 
the  door.  He  asked  if  he  could  stay  all  night 
with  him.  Without  the  least  hesitation  he  was 
answered  in  the  affirmative.  By  this  time  half  a 
dozen  little  heads  were  peeping  out  around  the 
legs  of  the  sturdy  sire.  They  ranged  from  a  girl 
about  fourteen  down  to  the  toddling  little  young- 


154  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

ster  of  two  years.  Our  hero  alighted,  fastened  his 
horse  to  a  sapling  near  by  and  entered  the  cabin, 
nearly  stiffened  by  the  cold.  His  supper,  which 
consisted  of  corn  bread  and  wild  meat,  was 
treated  with  due  respect,  even  cordiality,  as  he  had 
had  no  dinner.  But  pretty  soon  the  question  of 
sleeping  became  an  all-absorbing  one.  There 
were  only  two  beds  in  the  cabin,  and  it  was  en- 
tirely innocent  of  any  pretension  to  up  stairs,  as 
they  were  in  full  sight  of  the  board  roof.  He  cast 
a  calculating  glance  around  to  see  what  his  pros- 
pect was  for  a  bed, -and  with  dismay  he  saw  that 
they  would  be  as  thick  as  four  in  a  bed,  without 
including  himself.  TVhile  many  of  us  have  crept 
into  bed  with  a  dirty,  greasy  urchin  on  each  side 
of  us,  still  beds,  like  everything  else,  have  their 
capacity  and  will  hold  no  more.  These  certainly 
were  pre-empted.  It,  therefore,  became  the  all- 
absorbing  problem, '  shall  I  have  where  to  lay  my 
head  ? ' 

"  Finally  his  host  arose  and  said, '  Wall,  stran- 
ger, as  we  gits  up  in  the  morning  here,  I  reckon 
it's  time  we  were  abed.'  So  saying  he  took  a 
light  and  said,  '  Come  with  me.'  They  went  out 
of  the  door,  and  round  in  the  rear  of  the  house, 
where  he  found  a  shed  by  the  side  of  the  cabin. 
As  they  entered  it  a  little  less  than  a  dozen 
hounds  came  sneaking  out.  He  was  here  shown 
a  bed  made  after  the  following  fashion :  A  pole, 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  155 

with  one  end  stuck  into  a  crack  of  the  cabin, 
extended  to  the  centre  of  the  room,  where  it  rested 
on  a  fork  driven  into  the  ground.  Another  pole 
rested  by  one  end  on  the  crosg-piece  of  the  shed,  the 
other  end  also  in  the  fork  in  the  centre  of  the  shed. 
On  this  frame  boards  were  laid,  and  the  bed 
made  on  them — a  little  shaky,  but  pretty  comfort- 
able. The  man  remarked  as  he  went  out  that  he 
must  put  up  the  door  well  or  the  dogs  would  get 
in.  But  Caples  had  scarcely  begun  to  get  warm 
in  bed  when,  sure  enough,  the  dogs  began  to  de- 
mand entrance,  and  with  very  little  effort  the 
rickety  door  was  down  and  they  inside.  He 
drove  them  out,  and  as  well  as  he  could  recon- 
structed the  door,  but  was  only  snugly  tucked  in 
again  when  the  dogs  assailed  the  door,  and  down 
it  went,  and  in  they  came.  Finding  it  impossible 
to  barricade  them  out  he  concluded  to  take  the 
next  best  chance,  which  was  to  let  them  stay  in. 
They,  of  course,  all  piled  up  under  the  bed.  But 
just  as  he  was  getting  into  a  sweet  dream  of  home 
and  its  comforts,  a  lot  of  wolves  set  up  a  howl 
near  the  cabin,  and  all  the  hounds  rushing  out  at 
once,  came  in  collision  with  the  dreamer's  centre 
of  support,  that  is,  the  fork  supporting  the  poles 
in  the  centre,  when  down  came  poles,  boards,  bed, 
preacher  and  all. 

"  He  stretched  his  legs  out  to  see  if  any  bones 
had  been  broken,  and  finding  them  all  sound,  he 


156  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

•quietly  adjusted  himself  to  his  situation,  and  was 
soon  sound  asleep,  from  which  he  did  not  awake 
till  the  full  dawn  of  the  following  morning.  But  on 
awaking  he  attempted  to  move  his  legs,  when  they 
utterly  refused  to  obey  his  will.  '  What,'  thought 
he,  '  am  I  frozen  as  stiff  as  a  poker  ?  No,  that 
can't  be,  for  I  am  in  a  general  perspiration.  It 
can't  be  that  I  am  paralyzed?'  But  drawing  the 
cover  a  little  off  his  face,  what  should  meet  his 
astonished  eyes  but  the  nose  of  the  biggest,  ugli- 
est hound  in  the  pack,  within  three  inches  of  his 
own  nose. 

"  This  old  fellow  had  seemingly  claimed  the  dis- 
tinction of  sleeping  at  the  head.  On  looking 
down  he  saw  the  set  had  just  arranged  them- 
selves, ad  libitum,  literally  covering  him  from 
head  to  foot,  until  he  was  scarcely  able  to  move 
a  single  limb.  "With  a  few  vehement  begones, 
and  sundry,  uneasy,  spasmodic  movements  of  his 
lower  extremities,  however,  he  soon  dislodged  his 
impertinent  bed-fellows,  and  rose,  congratulating 
himself  that,  after  all,  many  a  man  had  slept  with 
meaner  dogs  than  these  hounds  of  the  back- 
woodsman." 

This  anecdote  brother  Miller  received  from 
Caples  himself.  No  doubt  he  could  have  given 
many  like  it  from  his  frontier  travels.  The  hos- 
pitality of  the  pioneer  settlers  is  unbounded. 
They  never  turn  the  stranger  from  their  doors. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  157 

However  inadequate  their  means  of  entertainment 
they  always  receive  the  traveler  with  the  utmost 
cordiality,  and  this  amply  compensates  the  lack 
of  much  else  that  might  be  desirable. 

The  District  meeting  was  anticipated  by  him. 
I  am  not  sure  whether  he  embraced  any  other 
than  the  traveling  and  local  preachers  in  his  plan 
or  not.  But  he  conceived  the  idea  of  infusing 
new  vigor  into  the  work  by  an  annual  convoca- 
tion of  the  preachers — all  the  preachers — those  who 
were  local  as  well  as  those  in  the  regular  work. 
It  was  in  the  scope  of  his  plan  to  enjoin  upon  the 
local  preachers  a  course  of  study  and  to  habitu- 
ate them  to  intellectual  labor  by  requiring  of 
them  an  essay  at  the  District  meeting.  Various 
matters,  doctrinal  and  practical,  were  to  be  dis- 
cussed and  opportunities  of  Church  extension  to 
be  canvassed.  One  object,  especially,  he  hoped 
to  accomplish — that  is,  to  get  all  the  local  preach- 
ers into  a  way  of  regular  work  in  appropriate 
fields.  That  there  should  be  so  many  men  in  the 
Church  declaring  that  they  were  called  to 
preach,  and  bearing  the  name  of  preachers,  doing 
so  little,  was  intolerable  to  him.  He  believed 
that  an  open  door  might  be  found  for  them,  and 
great  good  accomplished  in  that  way.  Thus  he 
sought  to  bring  an  agency  comparatively  dor- 
mant into  activity. 

Besides  that,  he  held  that  just  to  get  all  the 


158  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

preachers  of  the  District  into  consultation  with 
each  other  on  the  interests  of  religion  would  do 
good.  An  intensified  interest  would  be  felt  by 
these  men  of  God — an  interest  which  would  dif- 
fuse itself  and  reappear  at  many  points  in  actual 
prosperity. 

The  success  of  the  effort  did  not  answer  to  his 
hopes.  It  was  new  to  the  Church,  and  the  preach- 
ers did  not  enter  into  it  with  the  spirit  that  would 
have  secured  success.  It  was  not  a  part  of  the 
regular  machinery  of  the  Church,  and  men  felt 
no  obligation  to  attend.  Yet  much  was  accom- 
plished. His  personal  influence  gave  the  move- 
ment character.  Many  attended,  and  under  his 
management  much  interest  was  infused  into  the 
business  sessions. 

At  any  rate  we  see  the  man  in  the  undertaking. 
His  busy  brain  was  ever  at  work  devising  plans 
to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  Church.  The 
horse  going  his  ceaseless  and  unvarying  round  in 
the  mill  is  not  the  type  of  this  man.  It  shows, 
also,  the  breadth  and  scope  of  his  views.  His 
methods  were  co-extensive  with  his  opportunities. 
His  plans  were  bounded  only  by  the  limit  of  his 
field.  If  he  had  been  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  an 
entire  Church  his  comprehensive  organizations 
would  have  swept  the  continent.  When  he  was 
in  charge  of  a  single  congregation  he  concentrated 
on  that.  The  affairs  of  a  whole  District  he  com- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  159 

prehended  as  readily  and  handled  with  as  much 
facility.  With  equal  perspicacity  and  power  he 
grasped  the  interests  of  Central  College,  as  will 
appear  elsewhere.  In  fact,  the  compass  of  his 
mind  and  the  force  of  his  will  were  sufficient  for 
any  work  the  Church  might  call  him  to  perform. 
This  largeness  of  ideas  came  out  in  another  form 
while  he  was  on  his  first  District.  He  projected  a 
general  system  of  education  for  the  entire  Con- 
ference, and,  as  a  grand  initiation  of  it,  he  estab- 
lished two  High  Schools,  one  at  Weston  and  one 
at  Plattsburg.  By  a  grand  outlay  of  personal 
effort  he  secured  the  erection  of  adequate  buildings 
at  each  of  these  places.  All  this,  however,  belongs 
to  another  chapter.  I  mention  it  here  because  it 
was  an  incident  of  his  Presiding  Eldership,  and 
shows  his  breadth  and  power.  His  conceptions,  I 
have  no  doubt,  will  modify  the  development  of 
Missouri  Methodism  for  ages  to  come.  Even  when 
his  name  shall  be  no  longer  a  household  word 
with  the  people,  and  only  an  occasional  copy  of 
this  memorial  of  him  that  I  am  now  writing  shall 
exist  in  old,  forgotten  libraries,  the  activities  of  the 
Church  will  still  be,  in  some  measure,  adjusted  to 
methods  that  originated  with  him.  There  are  only 
a  few  men  who  deliver  themselves  upon  society 
with  sufficient  momentum  to  give  shape  and  color 
to  the  work  of  successive  ages.  One  of  this  few 
was  Caples. 


ICO  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

He  had  no  opportunity  of  showing  his  power  in 
District  administration  after  he  left  the  Weston 
District.  He  was  on  the  Fayette  District  but  one 
year ;  not  long  enough  to  evolve  the  latent  agencies 
of  the  Church  by  a  wise  and  potential  method. 
Beside  which  the  interest  and  energy  of  that  part 
of  the  work  was  concentrated,  even  to  agony,  at 
the  time  upon  Central  College.  Soon  after  his 
appointment  to  the  Brunswick  District  the  war 
came  on,  and  that  great  upheaval  was  an  effectual 
estoppel  of  ordinary  Christian  enterprise.  But  on 
the  Weston  District  his  opportunity  was  ample, 
and  he  appears  to  better  advantage  there,  per- 
haps, than  any  where  else  in  the  course  of  his  life. 
The  country  suited  him  to  an  iota.  It  was  filled 
up  with  first-class  men,  the  soil  was  as  productive 
as  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  and  wealth  was  multi- 
plying rapidly.  Cities  were  growing,  commercial 
activities  and  resources  were  working  such  mira- 
cles as  he  had  never  witnessed,  and  amazed  at  the 
new  empire  of  wealth  and  intellect  that  was  or- 
ganizing itself  around  him,  he  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  the  country  and  the  period  with  the 
utmost  enthusiasm.  Over  all  this  population,  this 
commerce,  this  wealth,  this  irrepressible,  ambiti- 
ous life,  religion  must  assert  its  dominion,  other- 
wise these  wondrous  activities  would  precipitate 
themselves  upon  ruin.  Alas  for  the  country  where 
so  much  human  force  was  expending  itself  if  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  161 

purifying  power  of  religion  were  wanting.  It  was 
his  mission  to  put  the  Church  on  a  footing  that 
might  command  this  tumult,  to  evoke  out  of  these 
industries  and  this  commerce  some  homage  of 
God,  to  evoke  churches  and  Christian  schools,  and 
put  Christian  shape  upon  affairs.  He  fulfilled  his 
mission.  He  stood  for  God  in  an  attitude  that 
commanded  every  eye ;  he  spoke  for  God  with  a 
tone  that  commanded  every  ear.  He  seemed 
made  for  that  time  and  that  country.  And  he 
loved  his  work.  If  the  worldly  activities,  the 
ambition,  the  lust  of  money,  rendered  the  task  of 
Christian  organization  a  herculean  one,  it  was  a 
challenge  of  the  power  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the 
courage  of  the  minister,  that  roused  a  sanctified 
ambition  in  the  man  which  made  him  actually 
sublime.  These  very  forces,  depraved  as  they 
were,  and  tending  as  fearfully  to  a  deeper  de- 
pravity, contained  in  themselves  the  grandest 
possibilities  for  religion,  if  only  they  might  be 
redeemed  and  elevated  to  Christian  conditions. 
There  he  stood  in  God's  name,  extorting  from 
Mammon  himself  the  agencies  that  were  to  under- 
mine his  throne.  He  was  conquering  this  mag- 
nificent region  for  Christ,  and  establishing  a 
powerful  ecclesiastical  garrison  under  most  effi- 
cient drill  and  thorough  Gospel  discipline  at  every 
point.  With  sleepless  vigilance  and  Napoleonic 

11 


162  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

energy  he  was  reducing  these  elements  to  Chris- 
tian forms. 

In  the  midst  of  this  push  and  hurry  he  could 
not  bear  an  easy  going,  insipid  preacher.  Such 
might  do  in  places  where  everything  was  stagnant. 
But  here  the  servant  of  the  Lord  must  be  a  live 
man.  He  once  asked  a  preacher  visiting  him  at 
"VVeston  to  preach  on  Sunday  morning.  After 
moving  rather  sluggishly  through  the  preliminary 
services  he  announced  his  text.  Then  followed  a 
considerable  pause.  At  this  juncture  several  per- 
sons left  the  house.  Caples  was  on  thorns.  Still 
the  preacher  stood  silent.  Others  left.  Caples 
could  bear  it  no  longer.  "  Fire,  brother,  fire  quick ! 
Don't  wait  to  take  a  rest.  Fire  off-hand.  The 
people  here  are  all  in  a  huriy.  They  won't  stand 
for  you.  F>ire  quick^  or  the  last  one  of  them  will 
be  gone." 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  163 


CHAPTER  IX. 


IW   CONFERENCE. 

Mr.  Caples  never  appeared  in  a  better  light  than 
at  the  annual  sessions  of  the  Conference.  There 
he  was  in  his  element.  Among  the  preachers  he 
was  fully  himself.  Socially,  in  the  business  ses- 
sions, in  the  Missionary  meetings,  in  the  pulpit, 
he  was,  unless  some  distinguished  visitor  may  be 
excepted,  the  center  of  interest. 

His  active  and  influential  participation  in  the 
business  of  the  Conference  came  about  by  degrees. 
When  young  in  the  body  he  was  not  obtrusive. 
For  several  years  he  never  spoke  on  the  floor  ex- 
cept some  occasion  made  it  imperative.  In  that 
early  time  he  never  initiated  measures.  He  was 
never  obtrusive.  Gradually  his  good  sense  com- 
manded recognition,  and  he  fell  naturally  into  a 
leading  position.  Once  he  had  grown  into  full 
sympathy  with  the  affairs  of  the  Conference  he 
became  the  leading  spirit  in  almost  all  important 
affairs  and  debates.  For  some  years  before  his 


164  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

death  he  almost  always  carried  any  measure  that 
he  advocated.  This  was  the  result  of  various 
facts.  Being  a  man  of  great  good  sense,  his 
measures  were  generally  just.  They  were  such 
as  commanded  the  approval  of  his  brethren. 
Then  lie  was  a  fine  debater.  He  got  at  the  heart 
of  the  matter  in  few  words.  He  never  bored  the 
Conference  with  long,  unwelcome  speeches.  Be- 
side the  clear  statement  of  his  case  there  was 
always  a  dash  of  humor  to  spice  it.  The  brethren 
were  always  glad  when  he  began,  and  ready  to 
hear  more  when  he  quit. 

If  the  opposition  was  formidable,  he  drew  upon 
his  knowledge  of  human  nature.  If  he  could  not 
carry  the  Conference  by  argument,  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  resort  to  his  unfailing  fund  of  wit.  He 
would  raise  a  laugh,  confuse  his  opponent  and 
end  in  triumph.  In  fact  he  had  the  advantage 
from  the  outset,  in  every  case,  in  virtue  of  his 
great  personal  influence.  If  the  younger  preachers 
did  not  quite  understand  the  case, .they  were  sure 
to  think  that  Caples  must  be  right.  He  always 
had  their  hearts,  and  once  you  command  a  man's 
heart  you  may  be  sure  of  his  ear,  and  generally 
of  his  judgment.  For  all  those  reasons  there  was 
nothing  that  could  stand  before  him  in  the  Con- 
ference. 

In  fact  there  was  rarely  any  collision  of  parties 
in  the  Missouri  Conference.  The  conflicting  claims 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  165 

of  St.  Charles  and  Fayette  in  educational  enter- 
prises form  the  principal  exception  to  the  pre- 
vailing harmony  of  the  body.  If  there  were  ever 
any  little  personal  jealousies  or  rivalries  they 
were  so  slight  as  to  be  mere  ripples  upon  the 
great  stream  of  love  and  confidence,  which  con- 
tinued to  flow  on  with  unbroken  current.  Brother 
Monroe  was  the  father  of  us  all,  full  of  parental 
care  and  ripe  and  sanctified  views,  and  Caples, 
the  great,  gifted  young  man,  the  leader  of  the 
host.  Then  there  was  Smith,  who  preached  Meth- 
odist doctrine  like  Watson's  Institutes,  but  never 
said  much  in  Conference ;  and  Brown,  whose  ser- 
mons on  any  topic  were  conclusive  and  exhaust- 
ive— a  little  disposed  to  criticise,  but  always  heard 
with  great  respect  on  the  floor ;  and  Jordan,  who 
might  have  been  a  leader  but  for  one  fact  —  that 
was,  that  he  always  carried  an  overload  of  modesty, 
which  broke  him  down ;  and  Ashby,  whose  face 
was  a  sermon  —  all  old  men  in  the  body,  all 
revered,  and  all  proud  of  Caples.  We  had,  also, 
our  dead  prophets,  Greene,  and  Bewley,  and  Red- 
man, and  Lanius,  and  Patton,  and  many  others, 
whose  names  we  often  repeated  and  whose  unseen 
presence  seemed  like  a  luminous  cloud  hovering 
over  our  assemblies.  As  for  the  rest  of  us,  we 
were  all  boys  together,  in  the  rank  and  file,  grati- 
fied with  the  character  of  our  old  men,  having 
confidence  in  each  other,  deeply  loving  each 


166  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

other,  and  all  proud  of  Caples,  awarding  him 
heartily  the  first  place. 

I  do  not  believe  that  there  has  ever  been  a  body 
of  men  associated  the  same  length  of  time  with 
less  friction  than  the  Missouri  Conference.  I  doubt 
if  the  primitive  Church  offers  anything  that  excels 
it.  May  this  harmony  ever  continue.  May  there 
arise  no  vain  men,  with  little  personal  ambitions 
to  gratify,  to  be  firebrands  here. 

LET  BROTHERLY   LOVE   CONTINUE. 

What  occasions  our  Conferences  were.  I  have 
them  in  my  mind's  eye  now.  Late  in  the  afternoon 
of  Tuesday  there  is  the  bustle  of  much  coming 
and  going  about  the  Methodist  Church.  Men 
come  in  buggies,  on  horseback,  from  the  depot  on 
foot,  all  making  their  way  to  the  church.  One 
squad  is  no  sooner  disposed  of  than  another  comes. 
Each  one  is  assigned  to  a  "  home  "  for  the  session. 
After  a  little  the  first  comers,  having  been  duly 
installed  in  their  homes,  return  to  greet  the  fresh 
arrivals.  Caples  comes  leisurely  along  from  his 
boarding-house  in  company  with  two  or  three 
others.  I  can  see  the  sunshine  in  his  face  now. 
They  are  in  earnest  conversation.  Caples  stops 
and  halts  the  others.  I  know  from  his  very  atti- 
tude that  he  is  tejling  an  anecdote  —  an  uncom- 
monly rich  one.  Presently  he  bends  forward  and 
laughs  one  of  his  laughs.  They  all  join,  not 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  167 

boisterously,  but  convulsively  —  laugh  until  the 
tears  run  down  their  faces.  They  move  on  and 
meet  others.  Caples  quickens  his  pace.  "  Why," 
says  he,  "  there's  Billy  —  God  bless  you,  old  fel- 
low! "Why,  they  have  fed  you  high  up  there  on 
Grand  river."  "  Why,  Ben.,  bless  your  soul,  is 
this  you?"  Then  the  shaking  of  hands!  Com- 
mend me  to  a  Methodist  preacher  when  I  am  to 
shake  hands.  It  is  not  an  art  with  them,  but  a 
natural  gift. 

As  these  men  come  and  go  every  here  and  there 
you  will  hear  a  voice,  quivering  with  pleasure, 
say,  "  Tender's  Caples,"  "  Caples  is  here,"  "  How 
are  you,  Caples  ? " 

Then  there  is  the  hum  of  voices  in  friendly 
inquiry  —  inquiring  after  wives  and  children;  for 
news  from  old  fields  of  labor  and  old  friends ; 
messages  from  one  and  another ;  information  of 
one  married,  another  dead,  a  young  friend  coming 
up  to  join  Conference,  another  backslid  from  God, 
and  a  thousand  other  things.  Ah !  the  heart  that 
is  in  these  reunions.  Every  preacher  meets  others 
fresh  from  fields  where  he  had  labored  a  year  or 
two  or  ten  gone  by.  Every  one  meets  preachers 
with  whom  he  has  been  in  common  labors,  perils, 
privations  and  triumphs.  What  a  bond  of  hearts 
the  itinerancy  is. 

I  will  not  describe  the  preaching,  the  coming  of 
the  Bishop  (usually  a  portly,  imposing  personage — 


168  LIFJE     OP     CAPLES. 

not  always),  the  opening  of  the  Conference  and 
the  business.  But  there  is  one  part  of  it  that  I 
must  note  —  the  opening  hymn,  sung  by  the 
preachers : 

And  are  we  yet  alive, 

And  see  each  other's  face; 
Glory  and  praise  to  Jesus  give, 

For  His  abounding  grace ! 

When  I  was  a  boy  in  Conference  Rev.  John  F. 
Young  used  to  lead  the  singing.  In  1842,  at 
Jefferson  City,  I  heard  it  for  the  first  time !  Was 
there  ever  such  singing?  It  was  religion  set  to 
music!  There  was  no  swallowing  of  the  voice 
there,  no  letting  of  it  out  thin  through  closed 
teeth,  none  listening  while  others  sang.  There 
was  a  contagion  of  singing  all  through  the  house. 
If  a  brother  had  no  control  of  his  voice,  still  he 
was  not  afraid  to  make  a  noise,  for  his  discord 
would  be  drowned !  It  was  no  mere  medley  of 
voices  neither.  It  was  music.  The  time  was 
perfect,  the  melody  good,  the  harmony  above 
criticism,  and  the  tone  and  emphasis  superb.  I 
would  have  gone  a  hundred  miles  to  Conference 
if  for  nothing  else  but  to  hear  the  preachers  sing. 
From  1842  to  1867,  the  time  of  my  last  visit  to  the 
Missouri  Conference,  the  personnel  of  the  body 
had  changed  almost  entirely.  Not  more  than  four 
or  five  of  the  same  men  were  present.  But  the 
old  animus  was  there  and — the  old  singing.  The 
individual  voices  were  different,  but  the  comple- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  169 

ment  of  sound  was  exactly  the  same,  and  the 
spirit  unchanged.  I  said  to  myself,  surely  there 
is  no  better  music  this  side  of  the  River. 

After  Caples  came  to  be  a  little  flush  of  money 
he  was  the  first  in  every  generous  suggestion.  If 
a  brother  had  lost  his  horse  or  met  with  any  special 
misfortune,  a  purse  must  be  made  up  for  him. 
There  was  in  those  days  a  Conference  Missionary 
Society.  Each  member  was  expected  to  pay  a 
dollar  a  year.  For  this  purpose  the  roll  was 
called  and  every  one  responded  with  his  dollar. 
He  often  responded  for  absentees  and  superannu- 
ates. A  brother  once  having  given  away  his  last 
dollar,  at  one  session,  borrowed  five  dollars  of 
him  to  pay  his  expenses  home.  At  the  next  ses- 
sion he  refused  the  amount.  He  had  intended  it 
from  the  first  as  a  gift.  He  abounded  in  such  acts 
of  generosity  at  every  session.  He  knew  what  it 
was  to  be  embarrassed  for  want  of  money,  and  if 
it  had  been  in  his  power  he  would  have  saved 
every  one  of  his  brethren  from  the  bitterness  of 
his  own  experiences. 

He  has  often  made  what  is  technically  called 
the  begging  speech  at  the  Missionary  anniversa- 
ries. In  this  he  was  at  home.  He  put  no  restraint 
upon  his  propensity  for  humor.  But  the  humor 
was  near  akin  to  pathos,  and  often  hightened  it. 
It  was,  in  a  very  high  sense,  a  "  feast  of  reason 
and  a  flow  of  soul."  He  would  ridicule  and  shame 


, 
170  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

the  miser  with  the  most  unheard-of  invective. 
Every  man  in  the  audience  would  be  ashamed  not 
to  contribute. 

On  these  occasions  the  preachers  always  gave 
the  greater  part  of  the  whole  sum  contributed. 
He  never  hesitated  to  urge  them.  God  would 
reward  their  uncalculating  liberality.  Let  to- 
morrow take  care  of  itself.  "  May  God  bless  the 
Methodist  preachers,"  he  would  say,  "  there  never 
has  been  such  a  set  of  men  on  earth  since  the 
times  of  the  Apostles.  They  get  less  money  and 
give  more  than  any  class  on  earth.  What  do  they 
care  for  money  !  They  labor  for  souls,  and  their 
reward  is  on  high.  Never  mind,  brother,  God  will 
take  care  of  your  wife  and  children.  You  are  not 
squandering  money  to  pamper  pride  or  gratify 
lust.  You  are  using  it  for  your  Master !"  Having 
drained  these  willing  givers,  he  would  shame  oth- 
ers by  their  example. 

His  own  contribution,  if  he  had  the  money,  was 
never  a  whit  behind  the  chiefest. 

I  never  heard  of  his  seeking  to  influence  his 
own  appointment.  My  conviction  is  that  he  never 
did.  He  was  a  Methodist  preacher,  ready  for  any 
work  the  Bishop  might  give  him.  He  was  as  far 
above  all  intrigue  as  it  is  possible  to  conceive.  It 
is  true  that  he  was  above  the  temptation  to  be  an 
intriguer.  He  was  in  demand  everywhere.  But 
I  feel  quite  certain  that  he  would  have  taken  any 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  171 

work  without-  a  murmur,  so  long  as  he  could  get 
anything  to  eat  and  a  roof  to  shelter  his  family. 

After  he  had  been  a  Presiding  Elder  for  some 
time  he  came  to  have  a  sort  of  patronizing  manner 
among  the  younger  preachers.  He  was,  or  had 
been,  the  official  superior  of  many  of  them,  and 
had  introduced  several  of  them  into  the  Confer- 
ence. His  personal  superiority  they  all  felt.  He 
was  very  much  deferred  to  by  them.  They  looked 
to  him  for  counsel  and  sympathy.  His  greatness 
was  not  of  the  oppressive  sort  that  causes  a  young 
man  to  tremble  and  hesitate  in  its  presence.  The 
genial  spirit  that  was  apparent  in  everything  he 
did,  in  his  entire  demeanor  and  intercourse,  invited 
confidential  approach.  No  young  man,  after  the 
slightest  acquaintance,  felt  any  embarrassment  in 
his  presence.  There  was  the  most  perfect  ming- 
ling of  respect  and  freedom  in  their  feelings  and 
manner  toward  him.  It  was  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world  that  he  should  take  a  sort  of 
paternal  relation  toward  them  in  his  own  con- 
sciousness. There  was  nothing  officious  or  offen- 
sive in  it.  His  age,  his  prestige,  the  genuine 
goodness  of  his  heart,  brought  it  about  in  an 
inevitable  way. 

Many  of  the  young  men  had  received  some 
substantial  kindness  at  his  hands,  such  as  a  father 
might  be  expected  to  extend.  He  had  some  amus- 
ing anecdote  to  tell  on  each  one.  Some  of  them 


172  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

had  personal  habits  that  he  ridiculed.  But  no 
matter  whether  he  had  helped  them  to  a  new  coat, 
or  told  an  amusing  story  on  them,  or  turned  the 
laugh  upon  some  personal  trait,  they  had  an 
intuitive  perception  of  the  loving  spirit  out  of 
which  it  all  came.  It  was  Caples,  and  he  might 
say  what  he  pleased ;  nothing  could  disguise  the 
genial  heart  which  overflowed  upon  a  man  even 
when  he  was  making  fftn  of  him. 

His  patronizing  was  not  an  affectation  of  super- 
iority. It  was  the  interest  of  an  elder  brother, 
and  was  called  into  this  species  of  expression  by 
the  confidence  and  deference  manifested  toward 
him.  If  to  a  stranger  it  seemed  a  little  demon- 
strative, in  the  family  it  was  all  natural  and 
pleasant. 

His  representations  of  the  young  men  of  his 
District,  when  he  was  a  Presiding  Elder,  always 
showed  the  most  hearty  appreciation.  Indeed,  a 
partial,  paternal  spirit  often  colored  what  he  had 
to  say  of  them.  Most  of  them  were  first-rate 
preachers,  "  for  yearlings,"  or  "  two  year  olds." 
Regular-bred  theological  graduates  were  not  to 
be  compared  to  them!  If  there  was  a  dash  of 
extravagance  in  all  this  it  came  out  of  the  heart. 

No  man  ever  more  fully  realized  the  esprit  du 
corps  of  the  Methodist  preacher  than  he.  He  had 
acquired  it  through  the  double  baptism  of  suffer- 
ing and  of  triumph.  More  than  any  other  man 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  173 

he  was  the  heart  of  his  Conference.  He  took  an. 
honest  pride  in  the  work  and  in  the  workmen. 
As  he  saw  the  country  growing  into  opulence  and 
power,  and  the  plans  and  operations  of  the  Church 
taking  on  a  type  and  assuming  a  magnitude  some- 
what in  keeping  with  surrounding  conditions,  this 
pride  swelled  into  a  generous  enthusiasm,  which 
the  annual  convocations  brought  into  full  play. 
It  brought  him  into  communication  with  the  whole 
field,  and  with  all  the  good  and  great  things  that 
Missouri  Methodism  represented.  He  gathered 
into  himself  and  uttered  all  these  activities  and 
grandeurs.  The  utterance  was  worthy  of  the  fact 
and  the  occasion.  The  voice  was  responded  to  in 
a  thrill  that  ran  through  every  breast 

At  the  session  of  1849  he  was  elected  on  the 
reserve  list  to  the  General  Conference.  A  vacancy 
occurring  among  the  regular  delegates,  he  took 
his  seat  as  a  member  of  the  General  Conference 
at  the  session  of  1850,  in  St.  Louis.  At  every 
subsequent  election,  while  he  lived,  he  was  chosen 
by  a  heavy  vote,,  and  was  in  the  General  Confer- 
ence in  the  sessions  of  1854  and  1858,  at  Columbus, 
Ga.,  and  Nashville,  Tenn.  He  took  no  very  prom- 
inent part  in  the  discussions  nor  in  the  business, 
feeling  himself  to  be  one  of  the  younger  men  of 
that  great  representative  assemblage  of  the  Church. 
He  was  growing  into  this  body,  however,  as  he  had 
grown  into  the  business  of  his  own  Conference. 


174  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

% 

He  never  thrust  himself  into  affairs.  By  another 
session  he  would  have  been  active  and  prominent, 
for  there  was  the  power  in  him.  He  would  not 
have  done  this  by  any  effort.  It  would  have  come 
to  pass  in  the  most  natural  way. 

At  Columbus  he  preached  one  or  two  sermons 
in  a  small  church  with  good  liberty.  I  have 
mentioned  in  another  chapter  his  sermon  at  the 
McKendree  Church  at  Nashville.  From  some 
untoward  causes  he  was  not  at  all  himself  on  that 
occasion.  He  failed  to  become  known,  as  he  was, 
to  the  Church  at  large. 

I  was  twice  with  him  in  the  Bishop's  Council 

when  he  represented  the  Weston  District.     He 
/         A 

was  full  of  his  work.  The  burden  of  Northwest 
Missouri  was  on  him.  It  was  to  be  the  most 
populous  and  powerful  region  within  the  limits 
of  the  Conference.  The  foundations  must  be 
broadly  and  strongly  laid  there.  I  never  felt  the 
force  of  his  will  so  fully  any  where  else.  In  pros- 
ecuting his  views  with  respect  to  this  region  he 
was  stubborn.  He  would  never  yield  a  point. 
He  had  come  up  with  matured  plans,  and  they 
must  be  executed.  He  supported  them  with  an 
array  of  facts  and  arguments,  stated  with  so  much 
earnestness  and  such  deep  conviction  of  their 
truth,  that  all  opposition  was  brought  to  a  pause. 
When  the  Bishop  made  an  appointment  in  his 
District  against  his  views  he  entered  his  protest 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  175 

with  so  much  solemnity  and  force  as  to  secure  a 
reconsideration.  It  was  no  mere  wilfullness,  but 
a  deep  sense  of  duty  and  fidelity  to  the  cause  that 
actuated  him.  It  revealed  a  depth  of  character 
in  him  I  had  never  seen  before.  He  was  a  man 
of  immense  will.  He  was  not,  however,  always 
asserting  himself.  It  was  only  when  a  great  in- 
terest or  duty  called  him  out  that  the  indomitable 
spirit  appeared.  His  own  interests  might  be 
waived,  but  when  he  stood  for  God  arid  His  cause 
I  would  as  soon  have  expected  him  to  die  in  his 
tracks  as  any  one  I  ever  knew. 

Many  of  the  pleasantest  recollections  of  my  life 
are  connected  with  Caples  at  Conference.  His 
presence  constituted  no  mean  part  of  the  charm 
of  those  occasions.  The  figure  of  the  man  as  he 
came  and  went  on  the  streets,  at  the  dinners,  in 
the  assemblies,  stands  out  distinct  and  radiant  in 
the  picture  gallery  of  memory.  The  flash  of  his 
eye  gleams  upon  me  to-night  from  the  glooms  of 
the  past.  The  resonance  of  his  voice  lingers  upon 
my  ear  now  like  the  cadence  of  a  great  bell  -that 
has  just  given  notice  of  some  unusual,  divine 
solemnity  at  hand.  He  stands  before  me  now,  in 
the  pulpit,  on  the  Sunday  night  of  the  session, 
looking  down  upon  the  vast  throng  crowding  the 
whole  space  within  the  walls,  his  right  hand  ex- 
tended forward,  the  palm  downward,  the  fingers 
at  a  slight  curve,  and  "  the  words  of  this  life " 


176  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

flowing  from  his  lips.  Sentence  after  sentence  the" 
thought  deepens,  feeling  becomes  more  intense, 
tears  flow,  shouts  ascend,  and  every  preacher  there 
feels  that  it  would  be  an  honor  too  great  to  be 
allowed  to  preach  Christ  on  the  most  miserable 
mission  in  the  State. 

Thenceforth  we  will  be  more  self-sacrificing, 
more  constant  in  toil,  more  cheerful  in  suffering, 
more  like  our  Master.  So  felt  we  all  under  his 
Conference  sermons. 

From  all  I  can  learn  his  life  culminated  at  the 
sessions  of  the  Conference  held  at  Fulton  and 
Mexico  during  the  war.  These  sessions  were  held 
in  troublous  times.  The  internecine  struggle  had 
raged  around  the  preachers  with  concentrated 
f my.  They  had  been  "  in  perils  oft."  They  had 
been  looking  daily  for  violent  deaths.  As  minis- 
ters, in  their  pulpits  and  ecclesiastical  qonventions, 
they  had  been  servants  of  the  Lord  Christ.  As 
individual  men  most  of  them  had  been  Southern 
sympathizers.  The  very  name  of  their  Church 
bore,  as  a  suffix,  the  word  "  South."  They  were 
suspected  men.  However  pure  their  Church  record ' 
might  be  from  any  political  stain,  even  the  slight- 
est, a  suspicious  eye  was  upon  all  their  assem- 
blages. No  circumspection  of  individual  de- 
meanor could  avert  malignant  rumor.  Private 
enmities  and  ecclesiastical  jealousies  were  ever 
on  their  track,  invoking  military  interference. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  177 

In  these  times  it  was  a  sublime  courage  that 
attempted  the  holding  of  a  Conference  at  all. 
Every  man  who  left  home  to  attend  did  so  under 
the  apprehension  that  he  might  never  return. 
They  committed  themselves  and  their  families  to 
God,  at  parting,  "  with  prayers  and  tears "  that 
will  never  be  forgotten.  Verily,  they  "  sowed  in 
tears "  then.  The  sword  was  perpetually  over 
them,  held  by  a  hand  not  unwilling  to  strike. 

But  they  were  the  under  shepherds  of  the  flock 
of  Christ.  Fidelity  to  Him,  the  chief  shepherd, 
required  that  they  should  guard  the  flock  in  these 
perilous  times.  He  had  given  His  life  for  the 
sheep,  and  now  they  must  follow  His  footsteps, 
even  though  they  led  to  the  cross.  Vital  interests 
of  His  cause  called  them  to  Conference.  Envious 
tongues  would  accuse  them  of  a  traitorous  pur- 
pose. But  they  knew  the  integrity  of  their  own 
hearts,  and  God  knew  it.  To  Conference  they 
must  go,  though  bonds,  imprisonment,  death, 
might  await  them. 

The  "  diary  "  already  quoted,  for  the  most  part 
very  brief,  is  more  full  in  its  account  of  the 
Mexico  Conference.  I  shall  give  the  material 
portions  of  it: 

"  Sept.  12, 1864.  Visited  brother  Nevil's,  Hutche- 
sorrs,  etc. ;  took  Mattie  and  left  for  Conference. 
Stayed  at  Brother  Monroe's. 

"  13.    Brother  Monroe,  Mattie  and  I  started  at 
12 


178  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

7  o'clock.  Mattie  stopped  at  brother  Lassiter's. 
Dined  at  brother  Horner's.  Brother  Monroe  had 
a  chill — quite  sick.  Found  ten  or  fifteen  brethren 
on  the  cars.  Reached  Mexico  in  the  evening  and 
found  home  at  sister  Pilcher's,  with  brothers  Dock- 
ery,  Rush  and  Vincil  —  a  pleasant  home.  God 
bless  the  family  and  the  occasion. 

"14.  Brother  Berryman  preached  last  night. 
This  morning  Conference  was  to  organize.  The 
brethren,  many  of  them,  young  and  old,  here,  not 
counting  their  lives  dear  un  to  them,  for  none  of  them 
could  leave  home  and  come  here  without  risking 
life.  Some  thirty-five  or  forty,  however,  met. 
Brother  Monroe  went  forward  to  read  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  sang  the  hymn  commencing,  '  And  are 
we  yet  alive' — prayer,  fervent,  following." 

What  meaning  was  in  that  hymn  then !  It  ha/1 
been  sung  at  the  opening  of  the  sessions  from 
year  to  year,  almost  always,  and  never  without 
much  feeling.  Amid  the  ordinary  changes  and 
uncertainties  of  life,  after  a  year's  separation, 
emotion  was  stirred  when  they  all  saw  "each 
other's  faces."  How  much  more  now ! 

"  And  lire   we  yet  alive  ?  " 

No  wonder  that  the  prayer  which  followed  was 
"fervent."  Hearts  accustomed  to  gratitude  for  all 
the  ordinary  mercies  of  a  never-failing  Providence 
would  melt  now.  Gratitude  for  life  preserved 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  179 

filled  every  heart  —  overflowed  every  eye.  A 
knowledge  of  present  dangers  brought  them  con- 
sciousty  near  to  God.  It  was  for  His  name  and 
cause  that  they  were  risking  life  and  imperiling 
their  families.  How  appropriate,  too,  that  Andrew 
Monroe  should  lead  their  devotions.  He  had  sur- 
vived to  them  from  the  first  generation  of  Missouri 
preachers.  His  white  hair  seemed  silvered  already 
by  a  ray  reflected  from  the  world  of  spirits.  He 
stood  before  them  a  token  and  proof  of  the  loving 
care  of  God.  That  "  fervent,"  effectual  prayer  of 
a  righteous  man  availed  much !  They  "  were 
heard  in  that  they  feared."  Elijah's  God  was  at 
hand.  The  fellowship  of  prayer  had,  probably, 
never  been  more  fully  realized.  These  hearts,  in 
the  furnace,  were  fused,  and  flowed  together. 
They  were  melted  into  one.  All  these  forty  men 
"  agreed  on  earth  as  touching  the  one  thing"  they 
asked  for.  It  was  done  for  them.  Some  of  them, 
perhaps  all,  are  aglow  with  the  fire  of  that  morn- 
ing's baptism  still.  Their  enemies  were,  unwit- 
tingly, furnishing  them  the  conditions  of  a  spirit- 
ual growth,  soon  to  appear  in  light  and  beauty, 
under  happier  auspices  and  brighter  skies.  Surely 
it  was  compensation  for  many  sorrows  to  partici- 
pate in  that  song  and  prayer  and  blessing. 

This  auspicious  beginning  of  the  session  was 
followed  by  military  interference.  The  diary, 
under  date  of  the  14th,  continues : 


180  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

"The  Provost-Marshal  came  forward  and  in- 
formed the  brethren  that  they  must  take  an  oath, 
as  prescribed  in  special  order  No.  61,  Provost- 
Marshal  General's  office,  1804.  The  officer  appeared 
not  to  know  of  a  modification  of  this  order,  and 
commanded  the  brethren  not  to  organize  until  they 
had  taken  the  oath.  A  dispatch  was  sent-to  the 
Head  Qu.  Prov.  Gen.  office.  Answer  indefinite. 
So  brother  Savage  went  forward  to  St.  Louis,  and 
we  improved  the  day  in  preaching  and  prayer. 
Brother  Austin  preached  at  3  p.  M.  and  H.  H. 
Hedgepeth  at  night. 

"15.  Prayer-meeting  at  9  A.  M.  A  good  time, 
melting  into  love.  A  holy  unction  rested  on  the 

brethren.  All  appeared  blessed At 

3  P.  M.  brother  Jo.  Pritchett — on  the  teachings  of 
grace — a  strong,  turgid  presentation  of  truth  and 
duty.  I  tried  at  night  to  offer  a  few  thoughts  on 
'  The  servant  is  not  above  his  Master,'  and  pressed 
upon  a  large  audience  the  acceptance  of  an  undi- 
vided Christ." 

The  wonderful  power  of  this  sermon  became 
known  to  me  last  year  in  Oregon.  At  Corvallis 
I  found  brother  A  Cauthorn  and  his  family. 
They  never  tire  of  talking  about  this  Conference, 
and  about  this  sermon  especially.  Truly  as  they 
had  served  God  from  their  youth,  Christ  became 
more  to  brother  and  sister  Cauthorn  from  that 
transcendent  sermon.  The  gospel  became  greater 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  181 

and  more  glorious.  The  very  light  of  heaven 
seemed  to  have  baptized  the  place.  All  that  is 
loveliest  and  most  exalting  in  spiritual  beauty 
and  immortal  hope  came  within  the  sphere  of 
vision.  It  was  no  mere  passionate  raving — it  was 
a  grand  progress  of  thought  from  exordium  to 
peroration — not  mere  thoughts,  though,  cold  and 
luminous,  but  a  lava-flood,  bursting  up  from  un- 
known, unfathomable,  mysterious  fire-depths. 

The  preaching  of  this  occasion  had  a  twofold 
advantage.  The  preachers,  purified  by  fire, 
preached  better  than  they  had  ever  done,  and  the 
people,  purified  also  by  fire,  heard  better  than 
they  had  ever  done.  There  was  a  deeper  sympa- 
thy between  the  preachers  and  the  people.  They 
had  read  about  persecution  in  the  fabulous  old 
times.  Now  they  themselves  felt  it.  Thanks  to 
the  Provost-Marshal !  he  had  deepened  the  sensi- 
bilities of  the  hour,  and  God  restrained  him  from 
doing  more.  The  word  of  God  meant  more  to 
these  bruised  hearts  than  it  does  to  the  proud  and 
prosperous.  Sorrow  drooping  upon  the  breast  of 
Jesus  feels  the  throbbing  of  the  Infinite  Heart. 
Tears  clarify  vision. 

Garrulous  gray  hairs,  seventy  years  hence,  will 
charm  the  ear  of  childhood  with  the  story  of  the 
wondrous  preaching  at  the  Mexico  Conference  in 
1864 — preaching  the  like  of  which  has  never  been 
since  and  probably  never  will  be — preaching  by 


182  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

rare  men  whom  God  had  greatened  in  the  furnace, 
and  by  Caples,  the  greatest  of  them  all.  The 
children  will  gape  and  wonder  if  the  Lord  will 
ever  send  such  men  into  the  world  again. 

Instead  of  taking  the  oath  which  the  Provost- 
Marshal  required  of  them  the  brethren  sent  a 
trusted  messenger  to  headquarters.  By  the  next 
morning  this  niessenger,  Rev.  F.  A.  Savage,  had 
returned  with  an  order  permitting  the  Conference 
to  organize.  The  preachers  of  Missouri  set  them- 
selves resolutely  against  any  interference  of  the 
civil  or  military  authorities  with  their  work.  They 
would  take  no  oath,  as  preachers.  Whatever 
they  might  do  as  individual  men,  or  in  their 
character  as  citizens,  they  would  submit  to  no' 
such  terms  as  a  condition  on  which  they  should 
be  allowed  to  transact  the  business  of  the  Church. 
Most  or  all  of  them,  I  presume,  had  taken  some 
form  of  oath  to  the  Government  since  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war,  as  other  citizens  had  done  When 
it  was  imposed  as  a  condition  of  holding  the  Con- 
ference they  declined.  They  owed  it  to  posterity 
to  take  this  stand  in  favor  of  the  independence  of 
the  Church  and  in  favor  of  religious  liberty. 
Through  years  of  persistent  persecution  they 
stood  firm.  Their  attitude  was  sublime,  their 
courage  equal  to  the  crisis,  and  in  the  end  they 
triumphed. 

The  Provost-Marshal  General    had  the  good 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  183 

sense  not  to  require  the  oath  in  this  instance.  I 
return  to  the  diary : 

"16.  Conference  Organized.  Brother  Monroe 
elected  President  and  Brother  Vincil  Secretary. 
Forty  members  present.  Brother  Shackelford 
preached  at  3  p.  M.  and  James  Penn  at  night, 
strong,  effective  discourses  A  fine  state  of  relig- 
ious feeling  in  the  Conference  and  congregation. 

"  17.  Examination  of  Elders  took  up  most  of 
the  time.  Monroe  sick.  Berryrnan  in  the  chair. 
Brother  Wm.  Penn  preached  at  night,  Jordan  at 
3  P.  M.  Quite  a  storm  of  wind  and  a  little  rain, 
leaving  the  air  cool." 

The  entry  for  Sunday,  the  18th,  mentions  the 
different  places  of  preaching.  The  following 
brethren  occupied  various  pulpits :  Caples,  Bird, 
Spencer,  Pinckard,  Savage,  Newland  and  Yincil. 
He  adds,  "  A  day  of  good,  we  trust,  to  the  large 
congregations."  All  the  churches,  it  seems,  were 
opened  to  them,  and  the  people  thronged  the 
houses. 

"  19.  Business  of  Conference  proceeds  smoothly. 
Downing  preached  at  11  o'clock,  Jordan  at  3  and 
myself  at  night,  on  '  Felix  trembled  and  said,'  etc. 

"20.  Conference  completed  its  business,  and 
brother  Monroe,  in  great  feebleness,  read  the  ap- 
pointments for  the  coming  year.  Brother  Vincil 
preached  at  night.  A  very  pleasant  Conference 
session.  The  preaching  was  more  spiritual  and 


184  LIFE     OP     CAPLES. 

of  a  higher  order  than  I  ever  heard  before  at  a 
Conference.  The  people  were  deeply  interested. 
May  rich  blessings  follow  these  labors." 

I  rejoice,  as  all  his  friends  will  do,  to  find  so 
much  from  his  own  hand  in  reference  to  the  last 
Conference  he  ever  attended.  In  a  few  weeks  he 
was  dead.  His  voice  was  never  heard  by  the 
assembled  brethren  again.  They  had  grasped 
his  hand  for  the  last  time  on  the  earthly  shore. 
When  they  next  met  in  Conference  he  was  with 
"  the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the  First- 
born." 

How  apparent  will  his  love  and  his  deep  interest 
in  the  preachers  be  to  those  who  knew  him,  from 
these  casual  pencilings  in  his  diary.  A  stranger 
will  not  see  it  so  clearly,  but  his  old  friends  will. 
What  a  vacancy  there  was  when  the  brethren 
assembled  in  their  next  session ! 

But  the  echo  of  his  sermons  was  in  their  ears, 
and  the  mention  of  his  name  melted  all  hearts. 

Since  preparing  this  chapter  I  have  received 
the  following  account  of  Mr.  Caples'  presidency 
over  the  session  of  1861,  at  Glasgow,  from  Rev.  J. 
D.  Vincil.  It  was  prepared  at  my  request,  and 
will  conclude  the  chapter  appropriately : 

"  The  eighteenth  session  of  the  Missouri  Annual 
Conference,  M.  E.  Church,  South,  convened  in 
the  city  of  Glasgow  on  the  llth  day  of  September, 
1861. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  185 

"By  vote  of  the  preceding  session,  Hannibal 
had  been  chosen  as  the  seat  of  the  Conference  for 
1861.  But,  owing  to  local  causes  and  influences,  it 
was  deemed  best  to  move  the  Conference.  The 
question  of  change  was  agitated  early  in  the  sea- 
son. Many  thought  Glasgow  the  most  desirable 
point  in  our  jurisdiction  at  which  to  quietly 
assemble.  The  writer  was  in  charge  of  Glasgow 
Station  at  that  time.  Being  written  to  respecting 
the  matter,  he  submitted  it  to  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference on  the  6th  of  July,  1861,  Brother  Caples 
presiding.  A  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted 
tendering  to  the  Annual  Conference  an  invitation 
to  meet  in  Glasgow,  if  found  necessary  to  change. 
With  the  invitation  was  a  tender  of  the  hospitali- 
ties of  the  Church  and  assurances  of  a  warm  wel- 
come. The  preachers  knew  what  was  meant  by 
such  offers,  having  enjoyed  the  generous  kind- 
nesses of  that  people  four  years  previously. 

"  Their  invitation  was  subsequently  accepted 
and  arrangements  made  to  receive  and  entertain 
the  brethren.  Accordingly  the  Conference  assem- 
bled as  above  stated,  it  being  the  time  set  by 
Bishop  Pierce  who  was  appointed  to  visit  and 
preside  at  that  session.  In  consequence  of  the 
dark  war-cloud,  so  ominous,  hanging  over  the 
land,  our  beloved  Bishop  did  not  reach  Missouri, 
and  we  were  without  a  superintendent.  The  Con- 
ference met  in  the  City  Hall  and  was  called  to 


186  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

order  by  Rev.  Andrew  Monroe,  who  conducted  the 
religious  devotions  of  the  morning.  The  election 
of  a  presiding  officer,  in  accordance  with  the  law 
of  the  Church,  was  first  in  order.  A  ballot  was 
taken  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  Wra.  G. 
Caples  as  President  of  the  Conference.  He  took 
the  chair  with  great  dignity,  and  expressed,  with 
unaffected  simplicity,  his  sense  of  the  responsi- 
bilities imposed  by  the  confidence  of  his  too  par- 
tial brethren. 

"Business  was  entered  upon  and  dispatched 
with  an  ease  and  facility  which  clearly  evidenced 
that  the  brethren  knew  their  man  in  placing  him 
in  the  chair.  In  truth  it  seemed  so  natural  to  him 
to  act  in  the  capacity  of  a  presiding  officer  that 
we  felt  less  than  otherwise  the  absence  of  the 
Bishop  we  all  delight  to  honor.  The  writer  has 
somewhat  closely  studied  '  the  make  up '  of  pre- 
siding officers  in  various  deliberative  bodies  of 
the  day  and  of  the  country.  With  no  preten- 
tiousness he  ventures  the  opinion,  from  close 
observation,  that  but  comparatively  few  men  com- 
bine all  the  necessary  qualifications  to  fill  the 
station  of  presiding  officer.  The  thought  has  been 
frequently  presented  that  our  Church  has  dis- 
played remarkable  discretion  and  judgment  in 
the  elevation  of  men  to  the  Episcopal  bench  of 
rare  administrative  abilities.  Endowed  with  a 
deep  knowledge  of  the  legislative,  judicial  and 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  187 

executive  departments  of  Church  government,  and 
possessing  the  experience  of  years,  our  Episcopal 
Fathers  are,  with  fewest  exceptions,  very  superior 
presiding  officers.  Of  some  of  them  it  may  be 
safely  affirmed  they  have  no  superiors  in  any 
sphere  of  life.  To  say  all  these  things  of  Caples 
would  be  injudicious.  But  it  is  the  firm  convic- 
tion of  the  writer  that  he  possessed  a  combination 
of  qualifications  fitting  him  for  the  Episcopal 
chair  that  no  occupant  of  it  could  ever  depreciate 
or  be  ashamed  of.  These  qualities  he  displayed 
in  his  presidency  over  the  Conference  in  Glasgow 
and  proved  himself  every  inch  a  Bishop  except  in 
official  title.  Amid  the  most  trying  surroundings 
and  delicate  labors  the  business  of  Conference, 
both  in  session  and  in  the  cabinet,  was  conducted 
in  a  highly  satisfactory  manner. 

"  During  the  session  delegates  to  the  General 
Conference  were  selected  for  the  quadrennial 
meeting  of  1862.  On  the  first  ballot  Caples  was 
chosen  at  the  head  of  the  list.  Brothers  Monroe, 
Vandeventer,  (Dr.)  Anderson,  Dines  and  Spencer 
were  his  co-delegates.  E.  K.  Miller,  P.  M.  Pinck- 
ard  and  Jesse  Bird  were  chosen  alternates. 

"Brother  Caples  was  re-appointed  Presiding 
Elder  of  the  Brunswick  District  for  the  following 
Conference  year,  and  remained  in  charge  till  Oct., 
1863,  when  he  was  stationed  in  Glasgow,  as  stated 
elsewhere. 


188  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

"  Aside  from  the  many  warm  personal  expres- 
sions of  high  appreciation  of  Caples  as  President 
of  Conference,  the  following,  adopted  by  a  rising 
vote,  is  a  matter  of  record : 

" '  Resolved,  That  in  the  spirit  and  fraternal 
manner  of  conducting  the  business  of  our  annual 
session,  our  superintendent,  Wm.  G.  Caples,  has 
more  than  ever  endeared  himself  to  the  members 
of  this  Conference.  S.  W.  COPE, 

E.  K.  MILLER.' 

"  The  closing  address  of  brother  Caples  to  his 
brethren  was  characteristic.  As  viewed  and  re- 
membered through  the  crowding  events  of  follow- 
ing years,  the  writer  cherishes  that  address  as  one 
of  the  richest  treasures  of  life.  To  reproduce  it 
here  might  be  gratifying  to  many,  but  expediency 
forbids." 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  189 


CHAPTER  X. 


PECULIAR      VIEWS. 

I  have  said  elsewhere  that  Mr.  Caples'  views 
were  strictly  Wesley  an.  In  regard  to  Church 
polity  he  was  a  conservative,  yet  not  of  the  most 
rigid  class.  What  is  essential  to  the  itinerant 
system  he  wonld  not  have  touched.  He  was  jeal- 
ous of  any  changes  that  might  check  the  force  of 
its  administration.  He  would  preserve  it  intact 
as  it  came  from  the  fathers.  He  could  see  no 
remodeling  of  it,  no  readjustment  of  its  parts  that 
would  not  probably  create  friction.  All  friction 
involves  a  waste  of  power.  The  structure  as  it  is 
is  homogeneous.  When  changes  begin  to  be 
made  no  doubt  some  elements  will  creep  in  that 
are  not  in  harmony  with  the  whole  system.  The 
system  itself  is  a  distribution  and  direction  of 
Christian  agencies  in  the  way  of  organized  activity 
of  the  most  efficient  character.  Mr.  Wesley  he 
thought  the  most  consummate  legislator  of  modern 
times,  and  that  the  Episcopal  Methodism  of 


190  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

America  realized  the  Wesleyan  idea  most  com- 
pletely. 

Yet  he  believed  that  some  such  addition  might 
be  made  as  he  himself  attempted  in  the  District 
meetings — not  as  a  change  of  the  structure,  but 
to  supplement  it,  with  a  view  to  greater  activity 
in  the  established  agencies  of  the  Church.  To 
augment  the  power  of  agencies  already  at  work 
was  desirable.  There  is  often  a  tendency  to  dull- 
ness or  apathy  in  individuals.  To  collect  them 
together  once  a  year  in  each  district  so  that  the 
vigor  of  the  best  workers  might  excite  the  more 
sluggish  to  enthusiasm,  and  that  all  might  provoke 
each  other  to  love  and  good  works,  was  not  to 
change  or  mend,  but  only  to  bring  into  greater 
activity  the  agencies  already  provided.  He  was 
in  favor  of  anything  that  would  secure  more  work. 
Work  was  what  the  Church  needed.  We  had 
the  best  distribution  of  work ;  the  thing  needed 
was  only  to  animate  the  workmen. 

Such  is  about  the  substance  of  views  I  once  heard 
him  put  forth  in  a  private  discussion  of  the  subject. 
I  mention  this  only  to  show  that  in  Church  govern- 
ment he  was  a  pronounced  Methodist. 

In  doctrine  he  was  no  less  pronounced.  In 
another  place  I  have  said  that  he  was  strictly  an 
evangelical  Arminian.  Yet  he  did  not  just  accept 
what  came  from  others.  He  had  his  own  views. 
But  his  mind  was  so  broad  and  comprehensive 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  191 

that  he  was  not  in  peril  of  heresy  at  every  step  in 
his  speculations.  He  did  speculate  boldly,  but  at 
the  same  time  he  comprehended  the  scope  of 
evangelical  doctrine  and  saw  the  everlasting  foun- 
dations on  which  it  rests  too  clearly  to  allow  any 
mere  speculation  to  come  into  collision  with  it. 

That  he  did  think  independently  and  with  great 
force  and  truth  will  appear  from  the  following 
statement  of  Rev.  William  Holmes.  I  make  the 
quotation  from  a  communication  sent  me  by 
Brother  Holmes,  and  as  the  matter  I  refer  to 
stands  in  immediate  connection  with  other  state- 
ments confirmatory  of  what  I  have  said  in  a  former 
chapter,  I  will  give  more  than  that  which  bears 
immediately  on  this  point : 

"  Brother  Caples'  education,  like  my  own,  was 
very  limited.  But  he  had  supplied  the  deficiency 
as  best  he  could  by  levying  contributions  from 
every  source  of  knowledge  within  his  range,  and 
few  men  have  such  a  peculiar  mind  for  arranging 
and  classifying  what  they  learn  for  future  use. 
He  possessed  an  extremely  fruitful  mind  in  ex- 
panding ideas,  and  extending  the  application  of 
the  same  idea  to  every  relation  of  life.  He  devoted 
the  entire  powers  of  his  mind  in  one  direction,  and 
that  was  to  present  the  gospel  in  the  most  forcible 
and  clear  manner.  He  had  wonderful  powers  of 
mind,  but  they  were  peculiar.  All  his  ideas  he 
took  second-hand  from  living  minds  or  books, 


192  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

but  the  arrangement,  illustration  and  imagery 
were  his  own.  Watson's  Institutes  and  Sermons 
and  the  Bible  were  almost  solely  his  text-books. 
He  scarcely  read  any  work  except  those  named, 
and  if  he  consulted  other  books  it  was  only  to 
gather  the  author's  plan  and  leading  ideas.  A 
usual  method  was  to  read  a  portion  of  the  open- 
ing chapter,  or  just  so  much  as  revealed  the 
author's  plan  and  the  leading  idea  or  ideas  of  the 
work,  and  he  then  had  no  further  use  for  it.  I 
recollect  getting  hold  of  a  new  work  I  had  read 
with  great  profit  and  pleasure  and  went  to  his 
house  with  it.  He  took  it,  read  the  plan  of  the 
work,  read  parts  of  two  chapters,  and  with  all 
my  persuasion  I  could  not  get  him  to  read  it 
through  or  take  any  further  interest  in  it.  He 
said  to  me  :  '  No,  I  don't  want  to  read  it ;  I  am 
afraid.  I've  got  his  plan;  I  like  it;  I  want  to 
arrange  the  details  myself.'  I  was  astonished  in 
hearing  him  preach  often  during  the  following 
year  to  find  that  he  had  mastered  all  the  author's 
ideas,  and  had  extended  the  application  of  them 
with  more  force,  as  I  thought,  than  my  favorite 
author.  Yet  I  know  he  had  only  read  as  I  have 
stated." 

I  concur  fully  with  Brother  Holmes,  except  that 
I  think  he  took  hints  from  nature  as  well  as  from 
men  and  books.  I  think  it  is  also  true  that  he 
became  a  greater  reader  after  the  period  of  Brother 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  193 

Holmes'  association  with  him.  He  procured,  in 
later  years,  every  important  publication  coming 
from  the  press  in  the  line  of  theology.  He  was 
among  the  first  to  get  and  devour  Bledsoe's  The- 
odicy and  Young's  God  and  Evil,  and  The  Christ 
of  History,  by  the  same  author.  And  while  there 
was  to  the  last  much  reading  in  the  manner  indi- 
cated in  the  statement  given  above,  yet  books  of 
a  high  order  of  thought  were  often  studied  by 
him  with  care. 

Of  Bledsoe  and  Young  he  was  a  great  admirer. 
He  luxuriated  in  their  writings.  But  from  what 
I  know  of  his  mental  habitudes,  if  he  had  lived 
to  see  "  The  Life  and  Light  of  Men,"  by  the  latter 
of  these  men,  he  would  have  repudiated  as  essen- 
tially heretical  his  views  of  the  Atonement.  The 
fact  of  guilt  as  an  essential  incident  of  sin,  the 
correlative  fact  of  the  condemnation  of  the  sinner 
under  a  Divine  judicial  administration,  his  well- 
poised  understanding  could  never  have  been  be- 
guiled to  relinquish  by  any,  the  most  specious 
sophistry.  The  correlative  of  guilt  and  condemna- 
tion again  is  penalty,  and  all  these  involve  the 
great  fact  of  justice— administrative  justice.  Sin 
is  not  just  merely  an  abnormal  condition  of  the 
soul,  a  fatal  reality  in  personal  consciousness.  It 
is  not  just  subjective,  a  dreadful  incident  of  which 
is  spiritual  death.  Beside  and  beyond  all  this, 

it  is  active  and  has  an  objective  bearing.     It  is  a 
13 


194  LIFE    OF    CAPLES. 

violation  of  law.  It  is  an  obtrusion  of  malignant 
forces  npon  the  universal  order  which  God 
has  established  in  the  spiritual  sphere.  It  does 
not  terminate  upon  the  sinner  himself,  but  is  a 
breach  of  the  peace  of  the  universe.  God,  in  his 
character  of  Infinite  Justice,  the  conservator  of 
universal  order,  must  hold  the  violator  of  his.  law 
guilty.  There  must  be  an  arrest  of  the  offender. 
There  must  be  an  executive  and  penal  administra- 
tion. These  propositions  are  all  grounded  in. 
reason.  No  less  are  they  distinct  affirmations  of 
Scripture.  "  The  wrath  of  God  is  revealed  from 
heaven  against  all  unrighteousness  and  ungodli- 
ness of  men."  "  The  Lord  shall  be  revealed  from 
heaven  in  flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them 
that  know  not  God  and  obey  not  the  gospel  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  incarnation  and  sufferings  of  Christ  are  not 
simply  an  expression  of  the  Divine  love  to  win 
the  sinner  to  God,  but  also  a  vicarious  sacrifice 
for  his  sin.  Great  numbers  of  passages  declare 
this,  and  the  most  ingenious  and  sophistical  expli- 
cation is  ever  more  resorted  to  by  those  who  deny 
it.  "  He  bore  our  sins  in  His  own  body  on  the 
cross."  "  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity 
of  us  all."  No  man  ever  felt  this  more  deeply 
than  Caples,  or  gave  a  more  distinct  or  fuller 
utterance  to  it  than  he  in  his  public  teachings. 
He  saw  in  these  great  facts  the  very  foundation 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  195 

of  the  Christian  structure.  They  constitute  the 
everlasting  truth  as  it  appears  in.  the  plan  of 
salvation.  He  had  mastered  and  repudiated  most 
of  the  sophistries  which  assail  this  doctrine. 

But  he  was  no  slave  of  other  men's  thoughts. 
There  were  some  things  in  the  old  books  (for,  as  I 
have  elsewhere  said,  in  his  latter  years  he  read 
many  of  the  best  old  English  authors)  which  have 
become  incorporated  with  the  popular  theology 
that  he  controverted.  Some  views  universally 
accepted  as  belonging  to  the  evangelical  doctrine 
he  considered  mere  fungous  attachments.  These 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  attack.  One  or  two  instances 
I  will  mention  as  indicating  his  independence  as  a 
thinker.  "Whether  he  was  right  or  wrong  the 
reader  will,  of  course,  decide  for  himself. 

He  gave  me  at  one  time,  with  great  interest,  an 
account  of  a  sermon  he  had  preached  not  long  be- 
fore, in  which  he  controverted  the  prevalent  idea 
that  God  had  created  man  for  His  own  glory. 
More  precisely,  his  hypothesis  was,  that  to  glorify 
Himself  was  not  the  motive  of  the  Maker  in  creat- 
ing intelligent  beings.  He  had  been  led  to  this 
view  by  the  repugnance  he  felt  to  certain  phrases 
in  the  Westminster  Confession.  That  God  had 
^foreordained  some  men  to  eternal  life  for  the 
praise  of  His  glorious  grace,  and  others  to  eternal 
damnation  for  the  praise  of  His  glorious  justice, 
was  a  statement  that  he  could  not  bear.  Yet  if  you 


196  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

concede  the  postulate,  that  His  own  glory  is  the 
actuating  motive  of  the  Creator  in  His  work,  the 
extreme  Calvinistic  conclusion  must  be  accepted. 
If  the  glory  of  God  is  the  final  object,  it  matters 
little  what  becomes  of  man,  whose  destinies 
are  neither  here  nor  there,  in  the  light  of  this 
theory,  except  as  they  may  enhance  the  glory  of 
God. 

This  he  met  by  denying  the  postulate.  Man 
was  not  created  for  the  Divine  glory — at  least  this 
was  not  the  motive  of  the  Creator,  not  the  end 
proposed  by  Him.  This  motive  would  disparage 
the  Almighty.  It  represented  Him  as  a  selfish 
Being,  looking  to  selfish  ends,  whereas  the  great 
fact  of  His  nature  was  love.  His  motives  are 
benevolent,  not  sellish.  His  glory,  in  fact,  consists 
in  this.  To  assign  a  selfish  end  to  His  work  is  to 
destroy  His  glory.  If  He  should  create  for  His 
own  glory  His  glory  would  be  lost  in  that  very 
fact,  for  His  true  glory  is  found  in  the  beneficence 
of  His  nature.  We  must  believe,  then,  that  He 
created  man  that  He  might  bestow  good.  The 
purpose  of  creation  was  a  beneficent  one,  there- 
fore a  purpose  that  looked  out  of  himself,  and  not 
in  upon  himself. 

He  illustrated  thus  :    A  man  sees  his  neighbor's, 
child  exposed  to  instant  death.     At  imminent 
hazard  of  his  own  life  he  saves  the  child.     He 
never  pauses   to   examine   his   own   motive,  but 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  197 

obeys  an  impulse — a  generous  impulse.  It  never 
occurs  to 'Mm  that  this  act  will  be  greatly  to  his 
credit,  and  that  he  will  lay  the  parents  under 
obligation.  He  just  has  a  right  impulse  and  acts 
upon  it  instantly.  He  desires  to  save  the  child, 
and  acts  accordingly.  The  motive  is  one  that 
looks  without  and  not  within. 

Now,  this  is  a  good  deed.  It  is  of  the  Jiighest 
class  of  good  deeds.  His  praise  is  in  the  mouth 
of  every  one. 

But  let  it  come  to  be  understood  that  he  deliber- 
ately proposed  it  to  himself  as  a  motive  of  the  act 
that  he  would  be  glorified  in  the  community — that 
he  cared  nothing  for  the  child,  but  desired  to 
become  a  hero  with  his  acquaintances — and  every 
praiseworthy  feature  of  the  act  is- lost.  The  glory 
of  the  act  was  in  the  fact  that  it  was  an  expression 
of  generous  alarm  for  the  child.  Assign  a  selfish 
motive  and  your  admiration  of  the  deed  is  gone. 
The  glory  of  a  deed  is  in  the  unselfishness  of  it. 
The  man  who  toils  and  encounters  danger  to  do 
good  is  a  hero :  the  man  who  toils  and  encounters 
danger  to  make  a  hero  of  himself  is  none.  He  is  j  ust 
a  common,  selfish  man.  A  man  is  glorified  in  doing 
a  glorious  work  so  long  as  he  does  not  propose 
his  own  glorification  as  the  end. 

So,  he  maintained,  God  is  glorified  in  His  work, 
but  He  is  so  because  His  purpose  is  beneficent 
and  does  not  spring  from  a  motive  terminating  in 


198  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

Himself.  To  work  for  glory,  as  a  motive,  would 
be  to  destroy  His  own  glory  and  to  forfeit  the* 
praise  of  His  creatures.  No  man,  therefore,  was 
foreordained  and  created  with  a  mere  deliberate 
design  of  the  Creator  to  give  Him  eternal  life  for 
the  praise  of  His  glorious  grace.  Much  less  is 
the  other  one  of  the  Westminster  propositions 
true. 

I  asked  him  what  he  would  do  with  those  Scrip- 
tures which  declare  that  all  things  are  and  were 
created  for  the  glory  of  God.  He  did  not  hesitate 
for  a  reply.  Every  thing  connected  with  the  mat- 
ter had  passed  through  the  alembic  of  his  mind. 
His  answer  was  that  all  things  do  glorify  God, 
and  this  as  a  result,  of  course,  He  foresaw.  He  is 
omniscient  These  passages  state  a  fact.  The 
fact  is  that  all  of  His  works  glorify  Him,  and  it  is 
right  for  us  to  see  them  as  for  his  glory.  But 
the  actuating  source  of  His  work  is  given  in  an- 
other statement — "God  is  love."  I  have  given 
the  substance  of  his  statement  without  any  attempt 
to  recall  the  exact  language.  But  I  am  very  cer- 
tain that  as  to  the  substance  my  statement  is 
accurate. 

He  did  not  accept  the  common  theory  as  to 
the  origin  and  design  of  natural  death.  He 
maintained  that  physical  death  was  not  the 
penalty,  nor  any  part  of  the  penalty,  of  the 
first  transgression.  "  In  the  day  that  thou  eatest 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  199 

thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die,"  lie  affirmed,  did 
not  contemplate  this  species  of  death  at  all.  On 
the  contrary,  natural  death  was  not  denounced 
against  man  until  after  both  the  fall  and  the 
promise  of  redemption.  "  Dust  thou  art  and  unto 
dust  shalt  thou  return,"  comes  historically  after 
the  seed  of  the  woman  had  been  provided.  The 
penalty,  "thou  shalt  surely  die,"  gives  just  what 
will  befall  the  impenitent  in  their  final  estate. 
Soul  and  body  in  hell  will  realize  its  import.  The 
phenomenon  which  we  call  physical  death — the 
separation  of  soul  and  body — belongs  to  another 
administration  altogether.  The  arrest  of  judg- 
ment in  the  case  of  the  first  offenders,  by  the 
intervention  of  redeeming  mercies,  made  place  for 
a  new  state  of  things.  Natural  death  is  a  part 
of  that  modified  condition  which  supervened  upon 
the  introduction  of  the  reign  of  grace.  It  is  just 
the  disposition  that  is  made  of  a  man  between  the 
moment  when  his  probation  ceases  and  the  day 
of  judgment.  It  is  not  the  penalty  of  the  law. 
To  the  incorrigible  and  finally  impenitent  it  may 
have  some  penal  significance,  as  all  they  suffer 
has,  but  this  was  not  the  design. 

It  is,  in  fact,  rather  a  part  of  the  remedial  sys- 
tem. A  result  of  sin  it  certainly  is ;  but  an  indirect, 
not  a  direct  result.  The  necessity  for  any  remedy 
comes  of  the  fact  of  disease.  Evil,  in  this  world, 
is  in  a  form  subdued  to  the  purposes  of  redemp- 


200  LIFE     OP     OAPLES. 

tion — t^iat  is,  natural  evil.  All  suffering,  under 
the  reign  of  grace,  is  corrective,  not  penal. 
Natural  death  has  its  place  in  this  system  of 
disciplinary  agencies.  It  is  called  by  the  apostle 
an  enemy  indeed,  and  in  one  sense  it  is  so.  The 
surgeon's  knife  has  never  a  friendly  aspect  to  the 
patient,  however  beneficent  the  result  of  its  use. 
"  Now  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to 
be  joyous,  but  grievous;  nevertheless,  afterward 
it  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteousness  to 
them  that  are  exercised  thereby."  "All  things 
are  yours,"  even  "  death." 

Upon  my  giving  the  substance  of  this  view  in 
the  St.  Louis  Advocate,  some  years  ago,  Caples 
accused  me,  in  a  good  natured  way,  of  having 
gotten  it  from  him,  referring  me  to  a  conversation 
we  had  on  the  subject  when  we  were  both  very 
young  men.  The  conversation  I  remembered,  but 
I  remembered  also  another  thing,  which  was  that 
I  already  held  this  opinion  at  that  time.  Our 
views  in  the  matter  were  coincident.  But  he 
never  would  give  it  up.  I  was  his  "  disciple  "  in 
this  doctrine.  He  would  hear  to  nothing  else,  and 
I  never  took  the  trouble  to  dispute  the  point 
further,  but  told  him  he  should  be  my  Rabbi. 
The  results  of  my  more  mature  reflection  upon 
the  subject  I  will  not  take  the  space  to  give  here. 

Among  other  things  that  he  found  in  old 
authors,  which  he  affected  so  much  in  the  latter 


LIFE     OF     C  A  P  L  E  S  .  201 

years,  was  a  theory  of  the  Tithe,  which  he  adopted 
and  advocated  with  great  enthusiasm.  When 
Rev.  T.  M  Finney  was  agent  of  the  Book  Deposi- 
tory, before  the  war,  he  instituted  a  course  of 
lectures  under  the  auspices  of  the  Young  Men's 
Methodist  Union,  of  St.  Louis.  The  object  was 
to  give  life  and  interest  to  the  Union,  to  do  good 
by  the  lectures,  to  make  something  for  the  Deposi- 
tory, if  possible,  by  the  fees,  and  to  publish  the 
lectures  in  a  book,  which  should  at  once  be  a 
valuable  contribution  to  religious  literature  in  the 
West  and  a  source  of  revenue  to  the  Depository. 
Caples  was  engaged  for  two  lectures  in  the  course. 
He  responded  readily,  chiefly  for  the  reason  that 
it  would  afford  him  an  admirable  opportunity  to 
get  his  doctrine  of  the  Tithe  before  the  people. 
Both  of  his  lectures,  if  my  memory  is  not  at  fault, 
were  on  this  subject.  I  had  hoped  to  secure  a 
copy  of  them,  that  I  might  give  the  most  important 
portions  of  them  here.  But  the  book  was  never 
published,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  get  a  copy 
of  them.  Nor  can  I  recall  the  elaboration  of  the 
theme  adequately.  The  clew  he  had  gotten  hold 
of  in  some  book,  but  he  threaded  the  labyrinth 
for  himself.  The  substance  of  the  theory,  as  I 
remember  it,  was  about  this  : 

The  Tithe  is  the  tenth  part.  The  law  of  the 
Tithe  prescribed  that  one-tenth  part  of  the  "  in- 
crease"—  that  is,  of  a  man's  income,  should  be 


202  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

devoted  to  God.  The  law  of  the  Sabbath  required 
one-seventh  part  of  a  man's  time  for  the  exclusive 
service  of  God.  The  object  was  to  impress  the 
claims  of  the  Creator  on  man.  Our  time  is  all 
His,  and  while  by  His  ordination  a  large  part  of 
it  must  be  used  in  the  necessary  aifairs  of  this 
life — and  while  thus  used,  if  the  right  disposition 
be  maintained,  He  is  glorified — one  part  of  it  is 
reserved  to  His  especial  service,  lest  in  our  worldly 
avocations  we  should  become  engrossed  and  forget 
God.  He  thus  recalls  us,  perpetually,  at  short 
intervals,  to  Himself.  He  reminds  us  that  our 
time  is  all  his,  and  that  all  appropriation  of  it, 
even  to  secular  affairs,  must  contemplate  Him.  It 
is  the  assertion  of  the  supremacy  of  God.  He 
makes  use  of  the  relation  we  bear  to  time  as  an 
occasion  of  asserting  Himself  in  our  thought  and 
arousing  us  to  an  habitual  worshipful  regard  of 
Himself. 

The  law  of  the  Tithe  makes  the  same  use  of  our 
relation  to  property.  However  legitimate  and 
necessary  to  civilization  the  acquisition  and  indi- 
vidual appropriation  of  property  may  be,  in  our 
depraved  condition  it  proves  a  snare  to  many.  It 
becomes  the  supreme  object  of  pursuit.  God  is 
put  aside  by  it.  The  true  spiritual  ends  of  exist- 
ence are  forgotten.  Men  live  in  the  flesh  and  for  the 
flesh.  That  which  is  really  accidental  in  our  con- 
ditions takes  ascendant  position  in  thought  and 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  203 

pursuit.  The  man  delivers  the  whole  force  of  his 
faculties  upon  this  end.  Life  loses  all  meaning 
except  that  which  is  expressed  in  percentages. 
The  spiritual  nature  is  ignored.  Eternity  goes 
into  an  eclipse  behind  the  dollar. 

There  is  that  in  our  fallen  condition  which 
responds  most  strongly  and  acutely  to  the  charm 
of  wealth.  The  ear  is  ever  keenly  set  to  receive 
the  clink  of  silver.  There  is  no  music  the  melody 
of  which  commands  such  universal  and  clamorous 
applause.  Men  will  dance  to  its  notes  who  can  be 
moved  by  nothing  else.  Even  sincere  Christians 
often  find  this  propensity  the  chief  hindrance  of 
religious  growth.  The  love  of  money  not  unfre- 
quently  keeps  them  in  a  gross,  carnal  state,  when, 
to  all  appearances,  they  would  otherwise  come 
into  the  full  liberty  of  the  Gospel. 

Those  who  have  riches  are  by  no  means  the  only 
class  who  are  in  danger  from  this  cause.  Very 
often  the  greatest  love  of  money  is  seen  in  those 
who  have  but  very  little.  Not  only  those  who  are 
rich,  but  "  they  that  will  be  rich,  fall  into  tempta- 
tion and  a  snare,  and  into  many  foolish  and  hurt- 
ful lusts  which  drown  men  in  ungodliness  and 
perdition."  Nor  is  it  only  that  form  of  the  love 
of  money  that  looks  to  hoarding,  but  that  other 
form  of  it  which  looks  to  spending  for  the  gratifi- 
cation of  our  lusts  and  pleasures,  that  is  sinful  and 
debasing.  In  all  money-making,  money-hoarding 


204  LIFE     OP     CAPLES. 

and  money-spending  there  is  occasion  of  tempta- 
tion. 

To  counter-work  this  fatal  tendency  to  gross- 
ness  and  carnality  of  life  arising  out  of  our  rela- 
tion to  property,  God  asserts  Himself  directly  in 
this  relation.  While  He  graciously  gives  us,  for 
food,  and  raiment,  and  education,  and  all  the  exi- 
gencies of  a  civilized,  cultivated  condition,  the 
greater  part  of  the  fruits  of  our  industry  and 
enterprise,  He  demands  an  appreciable  portion 
for  Himself.  The  results  of  our  labor  must  not  all 
be  turned  upon  self.  We  must  "  honor  God  with 
our  substance."  He  demands  recognition  here. 
He  will  not  consent  that  we  should  make  a  god  of 
the  world.  He  asserts  Himself  against  the  domin- 
ion of  Mammon  in  the  law  of  the  Tithe.  All  time 
and  money  are  His  But  he  allows  us  the  greater 
part  of  both  our  time  and  property  for  the  exigen- 
cies of  our  present  condition,  being  glorified  thus 
indirectly  by  a  wise  use  of  them  for  ends  that 
have  been  ordained  by  Himself.  Yet  one-seventh 
of  time  and  one-tenth  of  property  He  takes  directly 
to  Himself,  le?t  otherwise  His  right  in  these  mat- 
ters should  be  forgotten  or  denied. 

There  is  a  deep  feeling  in  men  that  they  have  a 
right  to  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  and  perhaps  the 
divine  authority  is  never  more  fully  established 
over  a  man  than  when  he  has  freely  conceded  this 
right.  When  a  man  of  about  average  instincts 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  205 

with  regard  to  property  has  surrendered  his  pos- 
sessions to  God,  and  is  fully  ready  to  acquiesce 
in  any,  the  largest,  demands  of  the  Creator  upon 
his  property,  it  is  high  proof  of  perfect  fealty. 
Hence  the  Tithe.  It  was  a  pronounced,  perpetual 
demand  of  God  directly  upon  property.  It  was  an 
assertion  of  divine  claims  in  a  particular  that 
would  test  the  depth  and  truth  of  the  response. 

There  is  a  popular  belief  that  the  law  of  the 
Tithe  was  part  of  the  Mosaic  Institute,  and,  there- 
fore, passed  away  with  the  coming  of  Christ. 
This  he  maintained  was  an  error.  This  law  was 
not  peculiar  to  the  Mosaic  dispensation.  The 
reason  of  the  law  is  too  deep  for  this.  It  was  no 
expedient  to  meet  a  temporary  condition.  It  is 
founded  in  essential,  permanent  states  of  the  soul 
and  of  society.  It  is  called  for  not  only  by  the 
facts  already  stated,  but  also  by  another  no  less 
important.  The  spiritu  il  life  must  express  itself 
in  organic  forms.  There  must  be  a  Church,  with 
ministers  of  the  sanctuary.  A  due  proportion  of 
the  property  of  men  must  be  put  to  this  use.  It 
must  provide  an  organized  utterance  —  a  local 
habitation  and  a  name  —  for  religion.  Religion 
can  not  make  way  in  the  world  otherwise.  It  can 
have  no  footing  in  a  world  where  all  life  is  in 
organic  forms  except  it  also  be  embodied.  To 
this  end  there  must  be  property  in  the  immediate 
service  of  God.  To  secure  a  desirable  result,  this 


206  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

appropriation  of  property  to  religious  uses  must 
be  under  the  operation  of  a  law.  Otherwise  every 
thing  will  be  at  haphazard  and  the  world  will 
realize  but  little  of  religion  in  any  form  of  prop- 
erty. 

lie  affirmed  that  we  have  ample  illustration  of 
this.  Men  had  come  to  believe  that  the  law  of 
the  Tithe  was  done  away  with,  and  that  they  were 
at  liberty  to  give  much  or  little,  or  nothing,  at  their 
option  or  convenience.  Hence  no  adequate  pro- 
portion of  the  property  of  the  world,  or  even  of 
the  Church,  in  our  country,  was  consecrated  to 
God.  In  most  places  there  is  a  want  of  adequate 
provision  for  the  worship  of  God  and  for  Christian 
education.  Ordinary  Church  expenses  drag.  Even 
the  wealthy  city  churches  are  often  in  a  stew  to 
bring  up  arrearages.  The  stewards  are  in  painful 
consultation  every  now  and  then  over  an  empty 
treasury,  with  an  unpaid  preacher  anxiously  ask- 
ing how  he  is  to  get  a  barrel  of  flour.  Not  unfre- 
quently  the  most  questionable  expedients  are 
resorted  to  in  order  to  supply  deficiencies.  The 
vanities  of  this  life  are  appealed  to  for  relief. 
Fairs,  charades,  tableaux,  with  their  concomitants, 
are  put  into  requisition  to  supplement  the  chari- 
ties of  the  Church.  The  conscience  of  the  people 
of  God,  under  a  well-understood  law  of  divine 
authority,  would  secure  a  revenue  at  once  regular 
and  ample.  All  expenses  would  be  adjusted  to 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  207 

resources  which  would  meet  every  reasonable  de- 
mand. The  law  of  the  Tithe  would  solve  all  the 
knotty  financial  problems  which  have  vexed  the 
stewards  of  the  Church  from  immemorial  times. 
As  to  the  fact  of  this  law  being  only  a  part  of 
the  Jewish  ritual  —  a  fact  which  he  denied  —  he 
affirmed  that  it  had  been  incorporated,  as  the 
Sabbath  had  been,  into  that  ritual,  but  that,  like 
the  Sabbath,  it  is  to  be  traced  to  a  higher  origin. 
Many  things  found  in  Moses'  law  are  of  permanent 
obligation.  It  was  not  all  mere  ritual.  It  embraced 
the  moral  as  well  as  the  ceremonial  code.  It  also 
embraced  principles  fundamental  in  ecclesiastical 
legislation.  It  incorporated  into  itself  customs 
divinely  ordained  among  the  Patriarchs.  Amongst 
these  are  the  Sabbath  and  the  Tithe.  The  conse- 
cration of  the  tenth  to  religion  dates  back  at  least 
to  Abraham,  for  that  greatest  of  the  Patriarchs, 
the  father  of  the  faithful,  gave  the  the  tenth  of 
all  the  spoils  of  the  campaign  against  the  kings 
to  Melchisedeck,  the  priest  of  the  Most  High  God. 
The  incident  is  mentioned  in  the  narrative  in  a 
matter-of-course  way,  not  as  an  extraordinary  case, 
but  as  if  it  were  a  customary  thing.  No  doubt 
Melchisedeck  was  in  the  habit  of  receiving  such 
recognition  of  his  official  character.  God  was 
thus  habitually  acknowledged  by  men  appropri- 
ating to  His  priest  one-tenth  part  of  their  goods. 
St.  Paul,  in  mentioning  this  incident,  seems  to 


208  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

understand  that  the  only  extraordinary  thing 
about  the  case  was  that  Abraham,  the  friend  of 
God,  should  have  found  a  priest  having  precedence 
of  him — one  so  great  that  even  he  paid  the  Tithe. 

From  this  case,  and  perhaps  other  hints  in  the 
Scriptures,  he  maintained  that  this  law  antedates 
the  Mosaic  economy,  and  rests  on  no  ground  of 
obligation  that  the  Christian  era  has  not  as  well 
as  the  Jewish.  Like  the  Sabbath,  it  rests  on  a 
lirmer  ground.  It  is  no  less  necessary  now  than 
in  the  time  of  Moses  or  of  Melchisedeck.  Every- 
where recognized  and  acted  on  in  the  Church,  it 
would  heal  the  infirmity  of  ecclesiastical  finances 
and  put  a  new  face  on  Christian  enterprise. 

But  there  was  another  proposition  which-  he  an- 
nounced on  this  subject  with  great  emphasis.  It 
was  this : 

The  Tithe  does  not  give  the  full  measure  of 
Christian  obligation  in  the  use  of  money  for 
religious  purposes. 

On  the  contrary,  it  was  imposed  and  intended 
only  to  provide  for  tJie  worship  of  God  where  it 
was  collected.  It  was  given  to  the  priest  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  the  sanctuary.  Nothing  beyond 
the  expenses  of  local  worship  is  to  be  provided 
for  in  this  way.  'This,  he  maintained,  the  whole 
history  of  the  law  would  show.  Every  man  owes 
Ood  the  tenth  part  of  his  income  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  the  Church  where  he  worships — to 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  209 

support  the  pastor  and  provide  for  the  decent, 
appropriate  worship  of  God  in  the  public  congre- 
gation. From  the  poorest  to  the  richest,  the  law- 
was  in  force  over  all.  If  any  man  received  ten 
dollars  and  no  more,  one  of  them  belonged  to  God 
for  this  purpose.  If  he  received  ten  thousand,  the 
law  demanded  the  tithe  of  it  for  the  honor  of  God 
in  the  maintenance  of  worship  for  his  own  family 
and  his  neighbors. 

All  claims  of  charity  and  Christian  enterprise 
in  the  form  of  Missionary  labors,  church  extension, 
aiding  the  poor  and  providing  for  the  orphan,  are 
over  and  above  the  Tithe — quite  in  another  cate- 
gory of  virtues.  Christian  charity,  where  there  is 
wealth,  can  by  no  means  satisfy  itself  with  the 
one-tenth  which  God  has  levied  upon  to  keep  the 
most  essential  forms  of  religion  alive  in  the  world. 
The  man  who  receives  but  a  small  salary,  with  a 
family  to  support  and  children  to  educate,  after 
meeting  this  divine  assessment,  may  feel  that  for 
charities  beyond  this  he  can  spare  but  little.  But 
where  a  bountiful  Providence  has  blessed  a  man's 
enterprises  until  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year,  more 
or  less,  flows  into  his  hands,  will  an  enlightened 
conscience  and  a  soul  made  perfect  in  love  allow 
the  remaining  nine  thousand  to  go  to  the  uses  of 
avarice  or  vanity?  The  suggestion  is  preposterous ! 
Above  this  regular  revenue  for  the  maintenance 

of  religion  at  home  God  has  given  no  specific 
14 


210  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

legislation,  bat  only  the  great  law  of  love — "  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 

The  fact  is  (I  have  heard  him  use  very  nearly 
this  language),  the  Church  does  not  begin  to  realize 
her  obligation  in  this  matter.  Even  among  pro- 
fessed Christians  the  devil  gets  the  use  of  ten 
dollars  where  God  does  not  get  one.  The  Church 
actually  pays,  ten  times  over,  more  to  support 
avarice,  vanity  and  family  pride  than  to  advance 
the  kingdom  of  the  Prince  of  Life.  Those  who 
make  the  loudest  profession  will  pay  a  hundred 
dollars  to  gratify  the  vanity  of  one  child,  and 
growl  half  a  day  if  they  have  to  pay  ten  in  the 
course  of  the  year  to  support  the  Gospel.  If  ever 
you  see  a  man  shouting  at  a  camp-meeting  and 
you  wish  to  test  the  quality  of  the  shout,  just  take 
up  a  Missionary  collection.  Ten  chances  to  one 
he  would  turn  sulky,  and  with  an  ungracious  air 
drop  in  a  battered  dime,  or  else  be  singing  so 
devoutly,  with  his  eyes  shut  while  the  plate  passed, 
that  he  would  not  see  it.  You  might  know  that 
that  shout  came  from  no  very  deep  place  in  the 
soul.  Every  effort  to  get  anything  up  from  the 
money-depths  fails.  His  religious  character  does 
not  go  down  there.  It  is  shallow — all  on  the  sur- 
face. It  is  a  religion  of  the  sentiments,  not  of  the 
affections.  These  cling  to  earthly  things.  True 
religion  subdues  the  whole  man  to  God.  The 
affections  of  the  soul  that  take  hold  of  property 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  211 

are  not  exempt  from  the  gracious,  transforming 
power.  They,  with  the  whole  nature,  become 
sanctified,  and  property  is  held  for  God.  When 
He  calls  for  any  part  of  it  for  His  immediate  use, 
it  is  surrendered  freely,  joyfully.  The  fact  is, 
when  a  man  comes  to  comprehend  his  duty  and 
privilege  in  this  respect,  there  is  no  part  of  the 
Christian  life  that  he  will  enjoy  more  than  this 
glorifying  of  God  with  his  substance. 

He  would,  on  occasion,  deliver  a  heavy  rebuke 
upon  men  who  were  getting  rich  and  all  the  while 
keeping  themselves  in  debt  by  fresh  investments, 
so  having  a  perpetual  excuse,  when  divine  claims 
were  made  upon  them,  that  they  had  no  money. 
They  must  pay  their  just  debts.  Honesty  first 
and  generosity  afterward.  All  the  while  they 
take  care  to  keep  in  debt.  They  make  money 
by  going  in  debt.  They  are  all  the  time 
"making  provision  for  the  flesh."  Thus  they 
manage  to  get  rich  and  defraud  their  Creator  of 
His  just  claims.  They  will  not  be  held  guiltless 
in  the  day  of  eternity.  It  is  the  bounden  duty  of 
every  man  to  make  thoughtful  provision  before- 
hand to  have  money  for  Christian  purposes.  He 
has  no  right  to  keep  himself  so  cramped,  while  his 
resources  are  so  abundant,  as  never  to  be  able  to 
make  a  full  return  from  his  means  to  the  Great 
Giver  of  all  things.  If  it  is  right  to  go  in  debt  in 
order  to  make  money,  it  is  right  to  go  in  debt  to 


212  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

do  good.  Tliis  latter  is  by  far  the  more  important 
investment.  It  will  go  on  yielding  its  per  cent,  in 
eternity.  Let  a  man  know  that  while  he  keeps 
his  capital  fully  aLsorbed  in  speculations  looking 
solely  to  the  increase  of  it,  he  is  to  suffer  heavy 
loss  in  the  '*  true  riches." 

I  have,  in  fact,  known  no  man  whose  ideas  of 
duty  with  respect  to  the  use  of  riches  were  so 
positive,  or  who  delivered  himself  on  this  subject 
with  so  much  emphasis.  He  saw,  with  that  distinct 
vision  of  spiritual  truth  which  so  eminently  char- 
acterized him,  that  the  covetousness  of  the  Church 
"  clogs  the  wheels  of  Zion."  The  movements  of 
the  Church  are  hampered.  There  are  no  adequate 
means  of  enlargement  and  enterprise.  Prophetic 
inspiration  anticipated  the  honoring  of  the  Son 
of  God  by  "gifts."  The  silver  and  gold  were  to 
be  His,  furnishing  large  revenues  to  be  adminis- 
tered for  the  increase  of  His  kingdom.  His  treas- 
ury was  to  overflow  from  the  offerings  of  a  jo}"ful 
multitude.  The  wise  men  brought  their  tribute — 
gold  and  frankincense  and  myrrh.  But,  alas!  a 
mercenary  Church  to-day  reduces  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Son  of  God  to  the  utmost  straits 
and  furnishes  no  adequate  resources  for  conquest. 
While  Heathenism  and  Mohammedism  and  Ro- 
manism dominate  the  world,  with  their  imperious 
and  corrupting  superstitions,  and  array  the  agen- 
cies of  wealth  against  the  work  of  Christ,  His 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  213 

people,  who  really  command  to  a  great  extent  the 
commerce  of  the  world,  refuse  the  supplies  neces- 
sary to  any  aggression  on  a  grand  scale  upon  the 
territories  of  darkness.  The  Kingdom  of  Christ 
in  this  world  can  succeed,  and  does  succeed,  only 
so  far  as  the  active  agencies  of  the  world  are 
touched  and  sanctified  by  it.  It  is  triumphant 
among  men  only  when  domestic  life,  social  life, 
political  life  and  business  life  are  sanctified  by  it, 
and  when  all  the  forces  of  society  contribute  to 
its  development.  One  of  the  most  potent  of  these 
is  money.  There  is  no  agency  of  evil  that  has 
wrought  more  moral  ruin  than  money.  But 
money  is  not  inherently  evil.  It  is  evil  only  as  it 
is  made  to  serve  the  ends  of  avarice  and  pride  and 
lust.  It  may  be  turned  to  most  beneficent  uses 
and  made  active  as  an  agent  of  redeeming  mercies 
amongst  men.  Even  the  mammon  of  unrighteous- 
ness is  to  be  subjugated  to  Christ  and  put  to 
service  in  the  sublime  movements  set  on  foot  by 
Him  for  the  salvation  of  lost  men.  "  The  world," 
in  the  Christian  meaning  of  that  word,  is,  perhaps, 
concentrated  in  money,  and  expressed  by  it  more 
fully  than  in  any  other  one  thing.  The  measure 
of  the  Redeemer's  conquest  of  the  world,  then, 
will  appear  in  the  extent  to  which  the  wealth  of 
the  world  is  brought  into  Christian  conditions. 
The  meager  revenues  of  the  Church  are  in  proof 
of  a  most  imperfect  spiritual  life  even  amongst 


214  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

His  professed  followers.  When  once  He  gains  a 
requisite  ascendency  over  the  hearts  and  resources 
of  His  own  people,  then  even  worldly  means,  trans- 
formed into  evangelizing  forces,  shall  hasten  the 
dawn  of  the  millennium. 

There  is  no  adequate  consecration  that  does  not 
take  money  along  with  it.  So  long  as  this  is  held 
back  from  God  our  offering  amounts  to  very  little 
indeed.  It  is  mere  hypocrisy  to  talk  of  giving  up 
soul  and  body  to  God  while  we  withhold  our 
property.  Soul,  body,  property,  family,  every 
thing  must  be  felt  to  be  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Creator.  Nothing  must  be  common  or  unclean. 
The  touch  of  grace  must  be  on  every  dollar — 
every  dime.  The  commonest  outlay  even  for  food 
and  clothing  must  have  His  glory  in  view,  and 
large,  painstaking  arrangements  must  be  made  to 
carry  £>n  His  work.  A  sanctified  spirit  will  dress 
plainer  and  set  down  to  a  more  frugal  table  in 
order  to  swell  the  tide  of  Missionary  agencies  and 
increase  the  energy  of  the  Church.  To  take  pos- 
session of  new  conquests  in  China  or  Madagascar 
for  Christ,  or  to  contribute  in  the  smallest  measure 
to  such  a  victory,  will  give  a  true  Christian  heart 
infinitely  greater  satisfaction  than  costly  enter- 
tainment. 

But  with  the  great  majority  the  Savior  and  His 
work  are  put  off  with  the  odds  and  ends — the 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  215 

leavings  —  after  the  thirst  of  avarice  and  the 
clamor  of  appetite  have  been  satisfied. 

All  these  things  he  delivered  with  a  clearness 
and  force  of  statement,  and  an  opulence  of  illus- 
tration and  imagery,  that  this  narrative  will  utterly 
fail  to  realize.  Many  of  his  sermons  and  addresses 
on  these  topics  were  unique  and  striking  in  the 
highest  degree.  They  were  never  tame.  He  spoke 
with  authority  as  one  who  consciously  represented 
the  Great  King.  There  was  nothing  apologetic  in 
tone  or  manner.  He  had  no  apology  to  make  for 
urging  the  claims  of  God.  To  make  duty  clear 
and  bring  the  conscience  up  to  an  enlightened 
standard  was  the  aim.  What  I  am  writing  is  but 
a  feeble  echo  of  his  grand  utterances  on  this  im- 
portant subject.  He  is  with  God  now,  and  I  trust 
that  his  word,  so  imperfectly  repeated,  will  con- 
vey a  deeper  meaning  from  that  fact.  Being  dead 
he  still  speaks  to  us  in  Missouri.  He  warns  us 
against  the  dominion  of  a  mercenary  spirit.  He 
commands  us  not  to  rob  God. 

Of  the  Missionary  cause  he  was  a  most  earnest 
advocate.  His  charity  was  as  large  as  the  world, 
his  views  co-extensive  with  the  boundaries  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  He  felt  that  the  Church 
which  failed  to  bring  out  its  resources  for  the  con- 
version of  the  world  must  incur  the  displeasure 
of  the  Lord.  Apathy  in  this  cause  was  sin.  Not 
to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  purpose  of  Christ  was 


216  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

to  be  dead  to  all  that  is  divine.  He  who  came  to 
redeem  the  world  requires  all  His  people  to  join 
Him  in  love  and  sacrifice  for  the  great  result.  We 
are  to  be  workers  together  with  Him.  In  this  He 
has  conferred  high  honor  upon  mortals,  and  the 
soul  is  dead  that  does  not  thrill  under  the  high 
impulse  of  this  divine  partnership  of  labor  and 
of  glory. 

He  was  keenly  alive  to  the  delinquency  of  Mis- 
souri Methodism  in  Missionary  labors.  The 
country  was  new,  indeed.  The  Church  had  a 
great  work  to  do  at  home.  Everywhere  churches 
were  to  be  built.  Schools  were  to  be  provided. 
New  ground  was  to  be  occupied.  There  had  not 
been  time  for  the  accumulation  of  capital  as  in 
older  countries.  For  all  this  allowance  was  to  be 
made.  Yet  after  the  largest  allowance  the  Church 
was  undeniably  culpable.  Much  more  might  have 
been  done.  There  was  often  money  for  every 
luxury,  money  for  pleasure,  money  to  be  wasted, 
even  by  members  of  the  Church.  The  money 
given  to  send  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  in  the 
meantime,  amounted  to  nothing.  Less  than  noth- 
ing, in  fact,  for  during  his  lifetime  the  Missouri 
and  St.  Louis  Conferences  consumed  more  Mis- 
sionary money  than  they  raised.  With  forty 
thousand  members,  or  thereabout,  we  were  a  tax 
on  the  general  treasury.  We  ought  to  have 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  217 

supplied  every  home  demand  and  sent  some 
thousands  abroad. 

The  reproach  is  not  removed  from  us  to-day. 
It  is  the  sin  and  shame'  of  our  Church  in  Missouri 
that  scarcely  any  of  our  members  feel  an  enlight- 
ened sense  of  duty  in  this  matter.  Every  man  in 
the  Church  ought  to  lay  aside,  as  he  may  be  able, 
a  sum  each  year  for  Foreign  Missions.  If  he  is 
poor  let  it  be  ever  so  little,  but  let  something  be 
consecrated  to  this  holy  object.  If  he  is  rich,  let 
it  be  in  proportion  to  his  wealth.  We  are  posi- 
tively narrow.  We  have  kept  our  sickly  charities 
concentrated  upon  home  objects  until  we  are 
shriveled.  While  a  New  Orleans  Sunday  School, 
under  the  impoverishment  of  the  war,  has  sent 
contributions  once  and  again  to  China,  and  come 
into  rich,  world-wide  sympathies,  we  have  been 
drying  up  under  the  assumed  inability  to  do  more 
than  attend  to  our  own  wants. 

It  is  high  time  for  Missouri  to  come  up  to  a 
nobler  elevation  and  get  an  outlook  upon  a  dying 
world.  We  want  a  broader  spirit.  The  words 
of  the  great  commission  have  never  taken  effect 
upon  us:  "Go  ye  out  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature." 

I  am  a  Missourian  by  birth,  and  in  my  spiritual 
life  the  offspring  of  Missouri  Methodism,  and 
therefore  speak  plainly.  For  the  shortcomings 
of  the  Church  I  am,  perhaps,  as  much  at  fault  as 


218  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

any  other  man.  While  this  book  which  I  have 
undertaken  the  labor  of  writing  may  be  a  monu- 
ment to  the  memory  of  Caples,  I  propose  to  the 
whole  Church  to  join  me  in  erecting  a  better  and 
worthier  one.  Let  us  inaugurate  an  era  of  Mis- 
sionary zeal.  Let  every  man,  woman  and  child 
in  the  Church  in  Missouri  from  this  day  make  a 
contribution  every  year  to  Foreign  Missions. 
With  the  poorest,  if  it  be  but  the  two  mites  which 
make  a  farthing,  still  let  it  be  cast  into  the  treas- 
ury with  prayer.  God  will  receive  in  it  the  odor 
of  an  acceptable  sacrifice,  a  sweet-smelling  savor, 
well  pleasing  to  Him. 

Mr.  Caples  laid  no  burdens  on  other  men's 
shoulders  that  he  was  not  himself  willing  to  bear. 
He  was  a  princely  giver  according  to  his  means. 
Indeed,  many  of  his  friends  thought  him  too 
generous.  But  he  did  it  in  faith.  In  the  eternal 
world  it  will  be  seen  that  he  acted  from  a  high 
motive — that  he  acted  also  wisely  and  well  for 
himself  and  for  his  children.  Well  he  knew  that 
money  hoarded  for  children  is  often  a  curse  and 
not  a  blessing.  The  name  and  memory  of  a  noble 
father  are  a  better  inheritance  for  children  than 
money,  inspiring  in  them  a  high  purpose  and  an 
honorable  sentiment  which  lead  to  the  achieve- 
ment of  better  fortunes  than  wealth  can  secure. 

I  have  wandered.  Yet  not  far,  for  in  his  views 
of  the  use  of  money  for  the  glory  of  God  Brother 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  219 

Caples  went  a  length  that  justifies  their  classifi- 
cation as  peculiar.  "What  I  have  said  comes  fairly 
under  the  caption  of  this  chapter. 

But  just  in  so  far  as  they  were  peculiar  they 
approached  nearer  to  the  measure  of  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus.  May  the  mantle  of  this  Elijah  fall 
on  many  surviving  prophets ! 


220  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 


DENOMINATIONAL  EDUCATION. 

I  have  already  given  Mr.  Caples'  views  of  the 
education  required  for  the  ministry.  "While  he 
strongly  opposed  making  a  classical  course  a  con- 
dition of  reception  into  the  traveling  connection, 
and  was  averse  to  theological  schools,  he  did  not 
undervalue  educational  opportunities  for  the 
young.  In  the  entry  in  his  diary  on  his  last 
birth-day,  given  elsewhere,  he  laments  with  evi- 
dent feeling  his  own  limited  attainments.  He 
felt  that,  in  many  situations,  he  could  have 
accomplished  more  with  the  advantages  of  a  thor- 
ough education.  As  he  advanced  in  years  and  in 
knowledge  he  felt  this  more  and  more  keenly. 

He  did  not,  however,  imagine  that  the  sum  of 
all  excellencies  is  to  "be  found  in  the  mere  acqui- 
sition of  knowledge.  "With  "  all  knowledge " 
there  might  be  the  absence  of  every  virtue. 
"  Knowledge  is  Power,"  but  it  may  be  power  for- 
evil  as  well  as  for  good.  In  the  hands  of  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  221 

Jesuit  it  will  extend  the  domain  of  superstition 
and  misbelief.  In  the  infidel  it  will  be  the  source 
of  unbounded  mischief.  In  the  service  of  corrupt 
passions  it  will  spread  the  malaria  of  vice  and 
licentiousness  far  and  wide,  and  invest  the  gross- 
est indulgences  with  an  air  of  respectability.  It 
will  give  plausibility  to  the  narrowest  fanaticism 
and  an  air  of  dignity  to  the  meanest  and  most 
mischievous  enterprises. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  consequence,  then,  that  the 
education  of  our  youth  should  be  in  the  right 
hands.  The  best  possible  conditions  must  be 
brought  into  concurrence  in  the  formation  of 
character. 

One  fact  is  apparent  in  all  ages,  and  yet  men 
seem  not  to  have  been  duly  impressed  with  it  up 
to  this  hour — that  is,  that  no  amount  of  mental 
training  or  culture  can  guard  a  man  against  error. 
The  most  gifted  and  highly  educated  are  just  as 
liable  to  embrace  erroneous  creeds  in  religion  and 
ethics  as  the  most  ignorant.  The  falsest  and 
most  disorganizing  and  debasing  doctrines  have 
never  wanted  for  accomplished  advocates.  The 
pride  of  opinion  which  so  often  accompanies 
learning  is  a  state  of  mind  most  unfriendly  to  the 
reception  of  truth.  A  boy  is  very  likely  to  em- 
brace the  opinions  of  his  instructor,  and  when 
once  he  comes  to  consider  himself  "  educated  "  he 
feels  his  character  for  learning  at  stake  in  his 


222  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

creed.  He  fortifies  himself  in  it,  and  always  has 
his  lance  leveled  for  any  antagonist.  He  is  never 
reluctant  to  prove  his  skill  in  dialectics,  and  the 
more  adroit  he  proves  himself  in  sophistry  the 
more  he  will  cherish  the  falsehood  in  defense  of 
which  he  has  made  himself  illustrious.  His 
learning  makes  him  an  ingenious  sophist,  but 
confers  no  power  of  infallible  discrimination  be- 
tween truth  and  falsehood. 

But  where  mental  culture  may  be  brought  to 
the  support  of  truth  immense  advantage  is 
secured.-  There  will  be  at  once  acuteness  and 
force  in  the  advocacy.  Truth,  unfortunately,  is 
not  so  popular  amongst  men  that  it  may  wantonly 
adventure  into  the  arena  without  sword  or  helmet. 
It  requires  to  be  full-panoplied  in  the  conflict. 
Every  possible  advantage  must  be  secured,  every 
possible  alliance  effected.  In  the  natural  sciences 
and  mathematics  men  seem  to  take  to  the  truth 
readily  enough.  But  even  in  these,  the  moment 
you  ascend  into  the  more  abstruse  and  complex 
regions,  investigation  becomes  difficult  and  error 
abounds.  Much  more  in  the  sphere  of  philoso- 
phy and  religion.  Except  in  the  most  obvious 
matters  there  seems  to  be  an  affinity  rather  for 
error  than  truth.  Only  he  who  holds  firmly  by 
the  Word  of  God  is  safe  from  fatal  blunders. 

It  is  not  enough,  then,  to  educate  the  intellect 
alone.  The  moral  and  religious  side  of  our 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  223 

nature  must  be  looked  after.  The  mind  must 
be  taken  possession  of  for  God  at  the  earliest 
possible  moment,  and  through  the  whole  period 
in  which  fundamental  beliefs  are  commonly 
formed  it  must  be  guarded  against  both  unbe- 
lief and  misbelief.  A  high  moral  tone  must  be 
secured  and  a  sensitive  conscience  toward  God. 
Religion  must  be  dominant.  As  the  intellectual 
force  is  augmented  it  must  be  turned  into  a  direc- 
tion that  will  promote  the  harmonies  instead  of 
aggravating  the  discords  of  life.  Otherwise  this 
augmentation  of  force  acquired  by  mental  devel- 
opment and  discipline  will  contribute  to  extend 
the  domain  of  evil,  while  it  intensifies  and  great- 
ens  the  ruin  into  which  the  man  himself  will 
plunge. 

The  youth  of  the  country  will  be  educated  by 
somebody.  Every  man  that  is  able  to  do  it  will 
give  his  sons  and  daughters  a  liberal  education. 
He  will  not  stop  to  ask  about  the  consequences, 
moral  and  religious,  that  are  to  follow.  He  will 
send  his  children  to  college,  no  matter  how  pesti- 
lential the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  place. 
They  may  be  manipulated  into  Romanism  or 
Infidelity,  but  to  school  they  must  go.  Parental 
partiality  will  take  it  for  granted  that  they  will 
escape  contamination. 

Nor  is  the  general  estimate  of  the  value  of  edu- 
cation exaggerated  except  in  the  particular  I  have 


224  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

named.  It  enlarges  the  area  of  consciousness, 
quickens  the  faculties,  and  evolves  power.  It 
makes  a  man  neither  a  saint  nor  a  sinner,  but  it 
enables  him  to  become  either  the  one  or  the  other 
on  a  large  scale.  He  is  more  in  himself  and  to 
himself  than  he  could  otherwise  be,  and  delivers 
himself  upon  society  and  events  with  much  greater 
force  and  effect.  He  can  do  more  good — he  can 
do  more  harm.  The  youth  ought  to  be  educated — 
must  be — WILL  BE. 

Who  shall  do  it?  The  Romanist ?  The  Infidel? 
Both  will  do  it  so  far  as  they  can,  especially  the 
former.  They  are  striving  to  the  utmost  of  their 
power  and  their  vast  resources  to  get  possession 
of  the  young  mind  of  the  country.  And  parents- 
thoughtless  Protestant  parents — are  constantly 
sending  their  sons,  and  especially  their  daughters, 
into  the  midst  of  this  religious  infection — this 
spiritual  small-pox — stupidly  hoping  that  they 
will  escape  the  plague.  Just  at  the  most  impres- 
sible period  of  life,  when  opinions  are  almost 
wholly  the  offspring  of  the  sentiments  and  the 
imagination,  the  incipient  woman  is  placed  under 
the  exclusive  control  of  those  who  will  take 
possession  of  her  through  her  affections,  and  in 
constant  contact  with  a  ritual  contrived  by  the 
sagacity  and  experience  of  ages  to  impress  the 
imagination.  If  she  is  not  led  by  her  affections 
and  imagination  to  embrace  this  stupendous  dis- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  225 

tortion  of  the  Christian  faith  it  will  be  a  miracle. 

But  the  children  ought  to  be  educated,  and  must; 
and  somebody  will  do  it.  No  one  saw  more  clearly 
than  Caples  these  two  facts  :  first,  that  a  solemn 
obligation  rests  on  the  Church  to  supply  a  Chris- 
tian education  to  her  own  children,  and  as  many 
others  as  possible ;  and  secondly,  that  the  Church 
that  does  most  in  this  field  of  enterprise  and 
opportunity  will  reap  the  richest  harvest.  The 
Gliurcli  must  educate  the  young.  The  rising 
generation  must  be  taught  religion  and  science  at 
the  same  time.  This  is  not  a  contest  with  the 
devil  over  the  body  of  Moses  (and  even  an  arch- 
angel thought  a  human  body  too  sacred  to  be 
relinquished  to  the  wicked  one)  but  over  immortal 
souls. 

Methodists  he  held  to  be  under  peculiar  obliga- 
tions in  this  regard.  Methodism  was  born  in  a 
college.  Mr.  Wesley  would  have  been  but  poorly 
qualified  to  do  the  great  work  to  which  God  had 
called  him  had  he  been  a  man  of  limited  attain- 
ments. As  it  was  he  had  achieved  incalculable 
results  in  several  fields.  The  intellectual  was 
almost  equal  to  the  spiritual  quickening  that 
attended  his  labors.  The  rage  for  learning  became 
epidemic  among  his  followers.  From  the  college 
he  brought  an  influence  to  bear  that  made  many 
a  man  a  scholar  who  scarcely  ever  saw  the  inside 

of  a  college  building.     Mr.  Wesley's  preachers, 
15 


226  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

however  crude  at  first,  almost  all  became  in  some 
substantial  measure  educated  men,  many  of  them 
highly  accomplished.  Clarke  and  Drew  and  Oli- 
vers, and  a  great  multitude,  became  erudite  under 
influences  coming  from  the  Wesleys.  The  move- 
ment had  extended  to  this  country.  The  Meth- 
odist impulse  had  raised  thousands  of  young  men 
from  the  ranks  of  poverty  to  cultivation  and 
eminence. 

The  Methodists,  as  a  people,  both  in  England 
and  America,  had  done  much  in  the  field  of  educa- 
tion proper.  Mr.  Wesley  early  founded  a  school. 
In  this  country,  even  in  the  days  of  Coke  and 
Asbury,  a  college  was  founded,  and  since  that 
time  Methodist  colleges  and  high  schools  had 
sprung  up  everywhere.  Herculean  labors  and 
immense  sums  of  money  had  been  devoted  by 
them  to  this  object. 

There  had  been  much  abortive  effort,  indeed. 
But  this,  even,  must  be  said  to  their  honor;  for 
these  failures  had  occurred  in  instances  where 
their  zeal  had  anticipated  the  resources  of  the 
country.  But  already  many  institutions  founded 
by  them  were  established  on  a  permanent  basis 
and  doing  a  great  work. 

Views  such  as  these  he  often  gave  in  public 
addresses  on  the  subject  of  education,  elaborating 
them  with  great  clearness  and  urging  them  upon 
the  conscience  of  the  Church  witli  great  force. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  227 

If  the  labors  of  men  devoted  to  the  profession 
of  teaching  and  the  protracted  service  of  Rev.  P. 
M.  Pinckard  as  agent  of  Central  College  be  ex- 
cepted,  no  man  amongst  us  in  his  day  did  so  much 
for  the  cause  of  education  as  Mr.  Caples.  Indeed, 
in  the  history  of  Missouri  Methodism  he  still  holds 
this  pre-eminence. 

His  arduous  devotion  to  this  cause  commenced 
while  he  was  the  Presiding  Elder  of  Weston 
District.  I  have  already  spoken  of  his  having 
inaugurated  the  District  Conference.  I  have  j  List 
learned  from  Rev.  M.  R.  Jones  that  in  addition  to 
the  preachers,  traveling  and  local,  he  invited  all 
official  members,  especially  exhorters  and  stew- 
ards, to  participate  in  the  business  of  these  meet- 
ings. From  the  same  source  I  learn  that  he  in- 
tended to  give  practical  value  to  these  occasions 
beyond  what  I  have  indicated  in  a  former  chapter. 
In  one  of  them  he  originated  the  movement  which 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  both  the  Weston 
and  Plattsburg  High  Schools.  Various  localities 
were  invited  to  compete  for  the  location  of  a  school 
of  high  grade.  The  community  making  the  largest 
subscription  was  to  be  honored  with  the  school. 
Caples,  then  living  at  Weston,  took  charge  of  the 
subscription  for  that  place,  and  Jones,  being  in 
charge  of  the  Plattsburg  Circuit,  raised  one  there. 
These  two  points  were  far  in  advance  of  all  others, 
and  Weston  ahead  of  Plattsburg,  but  only  by  a 


228  LIFE     OF     0  A  P  L  E  S  . 

very  small  amount.  It  was  finally  determined 
that  each  of  these  places  should  have  a  school. 

Of  the  school  at  Weston  he  was  a  trustee,  and 
to  a  very  large  extent  the  responsibility  of  the 
business  rested  on  him.  In  addition  to  the  labors 
of  the  district,  which  he  never  neglected,  there 
was  the  letting  of  the  contract  for  this  building,  a 
large  brick  edifice;  collecting  subscriptions,  some 
of  which  gave  him  great  trouble ;  meeting  financial 
obligations,  and  doing  all  other  things  incident  to 
so  large  an  enterprise.  The  house  finished  at 
last,  through  much  toil  and  the  wear  of  a  thousand 
anxieties,  suitable  teachers  must  be  employed 
and  the  school  put  upon  a  good  footing.  Then  a 
debt,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  rested  upon  the 
house ;  and  house,  school,  debt  and  all  rested  upon 
his  heart. 

His  affection  for  the  Weston  High  School  was 
like  that  of  a  father.  It  was,  indeed,  his  offspring. 
He  had  given  it  existence.  The  pride  he  felt  in  it 
was  natural  and  inevitable.  And  he  did  take 
pride  in  it.  It  was  one  of  those  agencies  by  which 
he  hoped  to  keep  the  Church  abreast  of  the  won- 
derful progress  of  the  remarkable  country  in 
which  it  was  located.  Much  of  the  best  and 
freshest  part  of  his  life  had  gone  into  it.  He  ex- 
pected it  to  be  an  evangelizing  power  in  the 
country  after  he  should  be  dead.  It  was  to  preach 
for  him  long  after  his  tongue  should  be  silent. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  229 

At  the  expiration  of  his  term  on  the  district  he 
was  for  one  year  stationed  at  Weston,  and  at  the 
same  time  acted  as  superintendent  of  the  school. 
In  this  relation  to  the  institution  he  was  not  ex- 
pected to  teach  any  of  the  classes.  His  mental 
habitudes  and  studies  had  not  prepared  him  for 
this.  But  a  general  control  was  vested  in  him, 
and  he  was  looked  to  for  the  moral  discipline  and 
government  of  the  pupils.  He  often  gave  them  a 
short  lecture  with  great  effect.  The  young  people 
regarded  him  with  filial  respect.  They  loved  him. 
His  words  went  down  into  their  hearts.  Many 
things  he  said  they  will  never  forget. 

There  were  two  men  associated  with  him  in  this 
school  whom  he  loved  and  admired  greatly — Rev. 
L.  M.  Lewis  and  Prof.  A.  C.  Redman,  eldest  son 
of  "VV.  W.  Redman,  so  long  a  leading  man  in  the 
Missouri  Conference.  They  both  had  the  mental 
and  social  endowments  that  attracted  Caples. 
They  were  intellectual,  vivacious,  candid,  out- 
spoken, generous.  Men  of  that  sort  he  loved 
with  a  luxury  of  feeling  known  only  to  big,  mel- 
low natures  like  his. 

The  latter  of  these  gentlemen  went  to  an  early 
grave.  "Coke  Redman."  Many  an  eye  will  moisten 
upon  meeting  this  name  here  It  is  but  right  that 
some  memorial  of  him  should  appear  in  this 
memoir  of  his  friend  Caples.  He  was  a  man  of 
fine  presence,  born  a  gentleman,  with  intellectual 


230  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

powers  of  a  high  order,  unbounded  courage,  and 
as  generous  a  heart  as  ever  throbbed  against  hu- 
man ribs.  I  first  saw  him  when  he  was  a  mere 
youth,  and  "  took  to  him  "  at  once.  He  and  Caples 
were  always  enthusiastic  admirers  of  each  other. 
His  untimely  death  must  remain  among  the  un- 
solved problems  of  Providence. 

But  for  the  war  both  of  these  schools  would, 
no  doubt,  ere  this  have  been  out  of  debt,  and  had 
a  history  of  prosperity  and  usefulness  to  justify 
the  hopes  of  the  man  who  projected  them. 

Caples'  plans  were  never  merely  local.  They 
were  always  comprehensive.  His  eye  swept  the 
whole  field  of  his  Conference.  He  contemplated 
and  urged  an  educational  system  that  should  be 
co-extensive  with  the  State.  It  was,  in  brief,  just 
this :  That  there  should  be  one  College,  to  become 
in  the  course  of  time,  as  the  resources  of  the 
country  and  the  Church  might  be  developed,  a 
University,  and  only  one,  to  be  patronized  by  both 
the  Missouri  and  St.  Louis  Conferences.  Then  in 
each  Presiding  Elder's  district  he  proposed  a  high 
school,  an  institution  to  meet  local  wants  and  at 
the  same  time  be  a  feeder  to  the  great  Central 
College  These  more  local  schools  should  be  re- 
quired, so  far  as  their  curriculum  extended,  to 
conform  to  that  of  the  College,  and  to  use  the  same 
text  books,  so  that  students  might  take  their  place 
at  any  time  in  the  latter  without  embarrassment. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  231 

When  the  system  should  be  perfected  and  the 
local  schools  become  prosperous,  they  might  ad- 
vance many  of  their  pupils,  who  would  be  too 
poor  to  bear  the  expense  of  a  long  course  at  Col- 
lege, to  the  junior  year,  so  that  many  a  one  unable 
otherwise  to  attain  the  end  might  graduate.  These 
schools  would  turn  attention  everywhere  to  the 
College,  and  greatly  increase  its  patronage,  while 
they  would  afford  a  substantial  education  to  thous- 
ands who  would  never  be  able  to  go  beyond  them 
to  the  College. 

The  committee  on  education  in  the  Missouri 
Conference  of  1867  reported  the  same  plan  sub- 
stantially, with  the  additional  recommendation 
that  the  District  High  Schools  should  be  directly 
under  the  patronage  of  the  District  Conferences 
instead  of  the  Annual  Conference.  This  I  con- 
sider an  excellent  plan,  for  several  reasons.  It 
will  relieve  the  Annual  Conferences  of  a  large 
amount  of  business  that  may  be  better  done  else- 
where. This  relief  is  not  unimportant,  for  there 
is  a  constant  tendency  to  accumulate  business  in 
those  bodies  until,  in  many  cases,  it  becomes 
burdensome.  Beside,  it  will  place  the  patronage 
of  these  schools  in  form  where  it  is  in  fact,  and 
concentrate  attention  on  them  in  the  region  upon 
which  they  must  depend  for  support. 

When  a  convention  of  preachers  and  laymen 
was  called,  by  the  joint  action  of  the  St.  Louis 


232  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

and  Missouri  Conferences,  to  consider  the  question 
of  establishing  an  institution  of  learning  of  the 
highest  grade,  under  the  united  patronage  of  the 
two  Conferences,  he  saw  in  it  the  dawn  of  a  day 
he  had  longed  for.  He  entered  into  the  project 
with  enthusiasm.  It  served  as  the  nucleus  of 
his  system,  and  I  think  suggested  it  to  him.  Some 
were  apprehensive  that  the  country  was  too  new 
and  the  resources  of  the  Church  not  yet  such  as 
to  justify  an  undertaking  so  heavy  as  this.  He 
thought  otherwise.  He  knew  there  was  sufficient 
wealth  in  the  Church  to  build  and  endow  a  "  first 
class  College,"  and  believed  that  an  enterprise  so 
grand  would  wake  the  intelligent  men  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  country,  so  as  to  command  the 
means.  On  the  question  as  to  whether  the  work 
should  be  undertaken,  he  voted  aye.  For  us  in 
Missouri  it  was  at  the  time  a  big  undertaking. 
For  that  very  reason  Caples  advocated  it.  As 
long  as  we  attempted  little  things  only  we  would 
do  less,  and  that  in  a  languid  way.  He  would 
never  fall  behind  the  general  advance  of  the  coun- 
try in  Church  enterprises.  We  doomed  ourselves 
to  littleness  by  such  inanition.  Our  true  policy 
was  to  lead  the  times,  and  not  be  dragged  along 
in  the  rear.  "We  must  not  only  be  up  with  the 
times,  but  ahead  of  them.  All  progress  is  in 
activity.  If  we  get  to  the  front  we  must  push 
ourselves  there.  If  we  wait  till  the  enterprise  is 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  233 

easy  we  will  find  ourselves  perishing  from  sheer 
inactivity.  The  resources  of  the  country  will  How 
into  other  channels. 

The  Convention,  by  a  large  majority,  resolved 
to  establish  a  first-class  college,  with  the  proviso 
that  it  should  not  be  organized  until  there  should 
be  a  cash  endowment  of  at  least  fifty  thousand 
dollars. 

Only  two  points  competed  for  the  location  of 
the  college — Fayette  and  St.  Charles.  Caples' 
vote  was  cast  in  favor  of  Fayette.  The  majority 
was  with  him — a  large  majority.  This  was  the 
origin  of  Central  College.  Brother  Pinckard  in- 
forms me  that  Brother  Caples  would  probably 
have  been  appointed  at  the  first  the  agent  of  the 
College  but  for  his  involvement  in  school  enter- 
prises up  the  country.  The  enterprise  was  com- 
mitted to  the  agency  of  Rev.  P.  M.  Pinckard. 
Howard  county  was  first  called  upon  to  contribute 
an  amount  sufficient  to  provide  a  suitable  edifice, 
and  responded  with  great  generosity.  The  pres- 
ent building  was  soon  erected.  The  whole  terri- 
tory of  the  two  Conferences  was  to  be  canvassed 
%for  subscriptions  to  the  endowment  fund.  To 
accomplish  this  the  St.  Louis  Conference  gave  to 
the  agency  at  different  times  Revs.  W.  M.  Protts- 
inan,  W.  M.  Wharton  and  J.  F.  Truslow.  In  the  Mis- 
souri Conference  Brother  Pinckard  was  assisted 
for  two  years  by  Mr.  Caples.  His  agency  com- 


234  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

menced  in  the  fall  of  1856  and  closed  in  the  fall 
of  1858. 

Upon  receiving  this  appointment  he  promptly 
removed  his  family  to  the  town  of  Fayette,  the 
seat  of  the  College,  and  entered  upon  the  duties 
of  the  agency  without  delay.  His  heart  was  in 
it.  He  traveled  extensively  and  delivered  many 
sermons  and  public  addresses.  To  this  public 
advocacy  of  the  claims  and  demands  of  the  Col- 
lege he  was  better  adapted  than  any  other  man 
we  had.  In  private  efforts  with  individuals  he 
had  less  tact,  perhaps,  than  some  other  men.  But 
with  an  audience  such  as  his  reputation  would 
command  almost  anywhere  he  was  at  home.  If 
he  had  raised  no  money  he  would  still  have  done 
a  great  work  in  arousing  the  Church  upon  this 
subject.  In  the  financial  result  his  hopes  were 
not  met,  yet  he  accomplished  much.  I  have  no 
means  of  knowing  how  much  money  he  raised 
in  the  course  of  the  two  years,  but  the  amount 
was  considerable.  A  great  task  lay  upon  the 
agents.  The  public  mind  had  to  be  educated  on 
the  subject  of  Colleges.  Men  could  not  see  why 
there  must  be  a  large  endowment.  They  thought 
tuition  fees  ought  to  pay  aW  expenses.  Private 
classical  schools  paid  their  own  way  and  pros- 
pered. Why  must  the  expenses  of  a  College  be 
so  great?  Many,  again,  could  not  see  why  the 
Church  should  have  a  great  College.  Liberal 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  235 

ideas  had  to  be  introduced,  a  large-minded  public 
opinion  to  be  created.  Immense  brain  power  was 
requisite  to  accomplish  this.  Immense  brain 
power  was  brought  to  bear.  But  it  was  hard 
work,  and  progress  was  not  rapid. 

The  College  and  its  agents  labored  under  many 
embarrassments.  The  fifty  thousand  dollars  was 
not  realized  as  early  as  was  expected.  The 
scholarship  system  had  been  adopted,  by  the 
Board  of  Curators,  and  many  subscriptions  had 
been  made  by  men  who  desired  to  educate  their 
sons  there,  and  who  understood  that  they  were 
paying  tuition  in  advance.  They  expected  the 
College  to  be  organized  in  a  short  time.  But  year 
after  year  they  suffered  disappointment.  Many 
of  them  became  clamorous.  Yet  the  endowment 
fund  had  not  reached  the  minimum,  and  the 
organization  could  not  be  effected. 

The  Curators  feared  the  consequences  of  delay. 
Men  who  had  taken  scholarships  were  becoming 
disaffected.  The  public  was  becoming  restless. 
It  seemed  that  the  enterprise  was  about  to  become 
demoralized.  A  High  School  was  already  opened 
in  the  building.  Rather  the  old  High  School  that 
had  been  maintained  at  Fayette  for  many  years 
by  the  Church  was  continued  and  removed  into 
the  new  edifice.  But  this  was  not  what  the  public 
had  bargained  for.  It  was  to  be  a  College — a 
College  of  the  highest  grade.  Fear  was  enter- 


230  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

tained  by  those  immediately  charged  with  the 
responsibility  of  managing  affairs  that  delay, 
which  had  already  bred  discontent  and  discour- 
agement, would  end  in  distrust  and  apathy,  which 
would  defeat  the  hopes  of  the  Church.  But  yet 
they  could  not  organize  the  College  proper  until 
the  full  amount  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  should 
be  in  hand  as  an  endowment  fund.  The  very 
terms  of  their  charter  forbade  it. 

In  their  anxiety  to  meet  all  emergencies  they 
fell  upon  the  expedient  of  a  provisional  organiza- 
tion. But,  unfortunately,  this  measure  excited 
strong,  not  to  say  violent,  opposition.  It  was 
asserted  that  the  Curators  had  at  once  violated 
their  charter,  or  at  least  the  published  terms,  act- 
ing in  bad  faith  with  contributors,  whose  liberality 
was  based  on  the  high  character  of  the  proposed 
institution,  and  degraded  the  College  by  organ- 
izing it  on  the  basis  of  an  inadequate  endowment. 
This  feeling  was  participated  in  honestly  and 
deeply  by  several  of  the  best  men  in  the  bounds 
of  the  St.  Louis  Conference.  Widespread  disaf- 
fection was  the  result.  The  subscription  for  the 
endowment  was  greatly  embarrassed.  The  enter- 
prise dragged  heavily.  It  almost  seemed  that  all 
the  toil  and  liberality  already  concentrated  in  it 
would  go  for  nothing.  Yet  its  friends  hoped  on, 
labored  on,  and  the  goal,  though  distant  appar- 
ently, was  coming  in  sight.  Rev.  \V.  H.  Ander- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  237 

son,  M  D.,  was  President  of  the  College,  and  Rev. 
C.  W.  Pritchett,  A.  M.,  in  charge  of  the  Mathe- 
matical department.  They  had  established  a  high 
reputation  already  as  teachers,  and  the  patronage 
they  commanded  was  large.  The  situation  was 
hopeful,  upon  the  whole,  though  the  complications 
were  serious  and  the  burden  heavy.  Current  ex- 
penses were  not  met,  salaries  fell  into  arrear,  and 
meetings  of  the  Board  of  Curators  were  full  of 
perplexity  and  anxiety.  There  are  many  living 
who  have  a  lively  recollection  of  those  meetings, 
and  these  recollections  are  softened  and  saddened 
by  the  thought  of  some  who  are  gone — men  whose 
names  are  the  heritage  of  Missouri  Methodism. 
Among  them  Captain  W.  D.  Swinney  was  a 
leading  spirit.  He  had  been  a  generous  supporter 
of  our  schools  in  Fayette  from  the  first.  In  the 
destiny  of  this  College  he  felt  the  liveliest  interest 
and  hope,  but  was  disappointed  and  grieved  that 
the  endowment  lingered  as  it  did.  He  had  given 
much  money  to  meet  expenses  as  they  accrued, 
and  was  ever  ready  to  meet  responsibilities,  of 
which  he  took  a  large  and  Christian  view.  He 
felt  that  not  only  the  honor  of  the  Church  was 
involved  (and  to  that  he  was  ever  sensitive),  but 
that  there  was  here  an  agency  for  good,  command- 
ing and  far-reaching,  for  the  present  and  for  com- 
ing ages,  and  to  falter  in  the  work  would  be  a 
dereliction  nothing  short  of  criminal.  He  was  a 


238  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

man  who  not  only  gave  money  to  the  cause  of  God, 
but  also  thought  for  it  and  laid  plans  for  it  with 
painstaking  solicitude  He  was  with  this  Board 
of  Curators  in  its  darkest  days  and  most  anxious 
meetings.  Though  he  died,  like  Moses,  before  the 
promised  land  was  reached  in  this  great  under- 
taking, I  doubt  not  that  his  influence  will  reappear 
in  the  consummation,  and  that  his  work  will  reach 
places  and  ages  in  which  his  name  will  be  un- 
known. 

Thus  things  wore  on  until  the  war  came.  The 
disorders  of  the  times  reached  every  thing.  Bro. 
Pritchett  persevered  in  maintaining  the  school  as 
long  as  possible.  But  even  his  earnest  devotion 
to  the  cause  could  not  carry  it  forward  through 
the  violent  and  lawless  times  upon  which  it  had 
fallen.  During  the  last  years  of  the  war  the  Col- 
lege doors  were  closed. 

As  soon  as  practicable,  after  the  war  closed, 
llev.  H.  A.  Bourland  re-opened  the  school.  This 
experiment  was  successful  beyond  the  most 
sanguine  hopes  of  its  friends.  The  two  Confer- 
ences, in  the  autumn  of  1867,  took  the  history  and 
claims  of  this  institution  intjo  earnest  considera- 
tion. The  Lay  Delegates  contributed,  by  the  earn- 
est deliberation  with  which  they  approached  this 
vital  question,  to  the  happy  issue  at  last  reached. 
The  reports  of  the  committees  on  education  in 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  239 

"both  the  Conferences  were  admirable  documents, 
and  belong  to  the  history  of  the  Church. 

A  joint  committee  of  the  Conferences  met  in 
St.  Louis  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  St. 
Louis  Conference  and  called  a  convention,  to  meet 
in  the  town  of  Fayette  in  June  of  1868.  The 
whole  matter  was  canvassed  with  a  serious  and 
prayerful  sense  of  its  importance.  The  Conven- 
tion was  addressed  in  the  most  impressive  man- 
ner by  Dr.  W.  A.  Smith.  Hon.  Trusten  Polk  also 
delivered  an  address,  impromptu,  which  contrib- 
uted much  to  the  deep  sense  of  the  importance  of 
the  hour.  It  was  felt  by  all  to  be  a  crisis  in  the 
history  of  Central  College,  and,  as  such,  also  in 
the  history  of  the  Church  in  Missouri.  The  voice 
of  the  Methodist  public  was  unanimous  as  to  the 
magnitude  of  the  interest.  The  doubt  was  not  as 
to  the  end  to  be  pursued,  but  as  to  the  means'. 

The  desideratum  was  a  man  to  take  charge  of 
the  fortunes  of  the  College,  whose  name  would 
give  confidence  and  be  at  once  the  pledge  and 
augury  of  success.  There  was  a  man  present,  a 
member  of  the  Convention,  whose  power  to  accom- 
plish the  object  no  one  doubted,  and  yet  of  whom 
no  one  seemed  to  think  in  connection  with  it.  He 
was  not  thought  of,  for  the  sole  reason  that  no  one 
supposed  he  would  undertake  the  task.  Twenty 
of  the  best  years  of  his  life  had  been  devoted  to 
the  building  up  of  one  College.  The  war  had  dis- 


240  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

organized  and  scattered  the  fruits  of  all  this  labor. 
He  had  looked  around  him  hopelessly  upon  the 
wreck,  and  feeling  that  he  was  too  old  to  begin 
the  work  anew,  he  yielded  to  a  call  for  aid  in  the 
pastoral  work  in  the  West.  Leaving  twenty  years 
of  himself  in  the  wreck  of  Randolph-Macon  Col- 
lege, he  came  to  St.  Louis  and  was  appointed 
pastor  of  Centenary  church.  His  reasons  for  leav- 
ing Randolph-Macon  were  known  in  Missouri. 

But  in  the  crisis  at  Fayette,  as  if  by  a  sort  of 
inspiration,  he  was  thought  of.  Two  of  his  friends, 
after  full  consultation  with  each  other,  called  on 
him  and  proposed  to  him  to  take  the  Presidency 
of  Central  "College,  with  the  understanding  that 
his  first  work  would  be  to  raise  an  endowment  of 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  the  Conferences 
having  already  agreed  upon  this  as  the  minimum 
of  endowment  upon  which  the  College  should  be 
organized. 

He  was  taken  wholly  by  surprise.  His  view  of 
the  labor  involved  was  clear.  He  grasped  the 
conditions  of  the  undertaking  fully.  The  magni- 
tude and  the  difficulty  of  the  undertaking  were 
fully  present  to  his  mind.  He  thought  of  his  own 
advanced  age.  He  thought,  also,  of  the  grandeur 
of  the  result,  if  it  could  only  be  achieved.  After 
a  pause  so  solemn  that  it  was  felt,  he  said,  in 
substance,  to  the  two  friends  who  had  made  the 
proposal,  "  You  know  Missouri ;  I  do  not.  You 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  241 

know  the  extent  of  my  influence  in  Missouri;  I 
do  not.  You  are  my  friends.  You  will  not  trifle 
with  me.  I  am  too  old  to  be  wasting  time.  If  I 
can  accomplish  this  object  it  will  be  the  greatest 
tiling  I  can  do.  It  will  be  the  crowning  work  of 
my  life.  But  I  can  not  afford  to  devote  my  last 
years  to  a  work  that  must  fail.  If  you,  my  per- 
sonal friends,  knowing  Missouri  as  you  do,  and 
knowing  me,  believe  I  can  raise  this  endowment 
in  ten  years,  I  will  undertake  it.  I  am  lame.  I 
am  getting  old ;  traveling  is  a  great  labor  to  me. 
But  if  you  think  I  can  do  this  work  in  ten  years 
[  will  undertake  it."  They  told  him  that  it  was 
their  conviction  that  he  would  accomplish  the 
whole  work  in  two  years  After  further  most 
earnest  conversation,  he  gave  his  consent  for  them 
to  offer  his  name  to  the  Convention. 

The  Convention  was  just  then  assembling  for 
its  last  session.  All  was  doubt  and  anxiety  in 
most  minds.  There  had  been  much  talking,  much 
thinking,  much  prayer. 

At  an  appropriate  moment  in  the  session  the 
name  of  Dr.  "W.  A.  Smith  was  offered  to  the  Con- 
vention for  the  Presidency  of  the  College,  with 
the  statement  that  he  had  already  consented  to 
serve  if  elected. 

I  will  not  undertake  to  describe  the  scene  that 
followed.  Of  course  he  was  elected  as  if  by 

acclamation. 
16 


242  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

I  shall  never  forget  that  hour.  The  subdued 
tone  and  well  chosen  words  in  which  Dr.  Smith 
acknowledged  the  honor  and  accepted  the  labor 
conferred  and  imposed  are  still  fresh  in  many 
minds.  The  congratulations  which  a  hundred 
men  looked  and  spoke  and  felt,  the  deep  sense  of 
relief,  the  new:born  sense  of  confidence,  the  flush 
of  a  great  hope,  constituted  one  of  those  occasions 
that  lift  life  out  of  its  commonplaceness — an  occa- 
sion to  be  held  in  memory  forever  after. 

"What  followed  is  too  recent  to  require  detailed 
statement  here.  The  extraordinary  labor  of  that 
great  man,  and  the  result,  must  be  held  as  an 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Let  us  hope 
that  the  activities  of  the  Church  will  take  higher 
tone,  and  her  plans  and  methods  be  projected  and 
carried  forward  upon  a  broader  and  more  ade- 
quate conception  of  Christian  obligation  from  this 
time  forward.  Who  can  doubt  that  God  raised 
up  the  man  and  in  His  providence  brought  him 
to  the  work  just  at  the  juncture  when  success  or 
failure  hinged  upon  the  action  of  an  hour  ? 

But,  alas !  the  aged  man  did  two  or  three  years' 
work  in  one,  and  the 'overtaxed  nervous  system 
broke  down.  He  is  dead,  and  the  cause'  of  Chris- 
tian education  in  Missouri  bears  the  consecration 
of  his  last  labor.  That  great  life  culminates  in 
Central  College !  Its  last  work  and  last  prayers 
were  for  this  chief  of  Missouri  educational  insti- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  243 

tutions  in  the  Methodist  Church.  Though  he 
carried  it  so  near  to  completion,  and  accomplished 
so  much  beyond  our  hope,  in  a  few  months,  yet, 
like  Captain  Swinney,  he,  too,  died  before  the 
promised  land  was  reached.  But  he  stood  on  the 
mountain  and  saw  it 

In  this  agency  Brother  Bourland  contributed  in 
no  small  measure  to  the  result,  and  now  Brother 
Rush  is  before  the  public  to  finish  the  work  that 
the  Doctor  dropped  from  his  dying  hand.  Let  us 
not  forget  that  it  has  to  be  finished  this  year,  or 
all  that  has  been  done  will  be  lost.  All  the  subscrip- 
tions are  made  upon  the  condition  that  the  en- 
dowment shall  reach  the  amount  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  by  the  first  of  January,  1871. 
But  surely  the  few  thousands  remaining  to  com- 
plete the  sum  wrill  be  forthcoming.  The  Church 
will  not  allow  so  much  to  go  for  nothing. 

Is  there  not  some  man  who  will  contribute 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  endow  a  profes- 
sorship which  shall  bear  the  name  and  be  a 
monument  of  the  labors  of  the  martyr  to  Metho- 
dist education  in  this  College  ? 

For  the  great  success  of  the  labors  of  Dr.  Smith 
there  had  been  not  a  little  preparation  in  the  years 
and  labors  that  had  gone  before.  No  doubt  the 
personal  influence  and  public  addresses  of  Brother 
Caples  had  produced  an  effect  that  was  still  felt. 
It  required  all  the  great  powers  of  Dr.  Smith  to 


244  LIFE    OF    CAPLE8. 

bring  the  influence  into  fruition,  but  such  an  influ- 
ence there  was.  The  very  fact  that  Caples  was 
dead  revived  the  memory  and  gave  emphasis  to 
the  tone  of  his  labors  in  the  interest  of  denomi- 
national schools,  and  especially  of  this  College. 
In  all  justice  he  must  be  held  as  one  of  those 
men  without  whose  devotion  this  institution  could 
never  have  attained  to  power  and  permanency. 
His  name  belongs  to  its  history  in  no  obscure  way. 
His  public  discourses  in  its  behalf  combined  a 
philosophic  breadth  with  a  popular  manner  that 
was  peculiar  to  him.  He  grasped  the  whole  idea 
of  popular  education  and  brought  it  out  in  a  way 
that  impressed  men  of  good  sense  most  pro- 
foundly. Views  presented  in  the  beginning  of 
this  chapter,  and  many  others,  he  enforced  with 
irresistible  spirit.  Upon  the  more  sober  truth, 
there  was  in  his  discourses  the  flash  of  genius  that 
set  it  in  a  clear  light  before  all.  Then  came  in 
the  play  of  a  happy  conceit  or  the  touching  pathos 
that  swept  all  before  it. 

The  following,  from  Rev.  Wesley  G.  Miller,  will 
illustrate  this,  and  give  some  idea  of  the  ingen- 
ious adaptation  of  his  appeals  in  behalf  of  the 
College  to  the  time  and  circumstances.  He  felt 
perfectly  at  home  before  this  audience.  The  peo- 
ple of  this  part  of  the  country  knew  him  and 
admired  and  trusted  him  in  the  highest  degree. 
He  was  perfectly  free  among  them,  and  knew  that 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  245 

they  would  be  prepared  to  receive  the  form  of 
attack  npon  meanness  and  stinginess  which  is 
given  at  the  close.  Brother  Miller  says : 

"  I  remember,  among  many,  one  very  remarka- 
ble discourse,  which,  under  the  circumstances, 
produced  a  wonderful  effect.  It  was  delivered  in 
the  fall  of  1857,  at  a  camp-meeting  in  Daviess 
county,  while  he  was  on  a  tour  collecting  money 
for  Central  College,  as  its  agent,  and  it  was  in 
advocacy  of  the  claims  of  that  institution.  He 
was  dwelling  on  the  subject  of  the  reflex  and 
personal  benefit  of  benevolence,  and  the  gratifica- 
tion the  remembrance  of  our  charities  would  give 
us.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  drew  a  most 
vivid  picture  of  our  Lord's  entrance  into  Jerusalem 
riding  on  the  colt,  beginning  with  the  man's  per- 
mission given  to  the  disciples  to  lead  his  colt  away 
for  the  'Master.'  He  was  so  surprised  by  the 
request  that,  half  stupefied,  he  gave  his  permis- 
sion without  consideration,  but  after  they  were 
gone  with  the  colt  he  began  to  soliloquize  thus : 
'Why,  I  was  very  foolish  to  let  them  take  my 
colt  off  so.  It  is  true  I  love  Jesus,  and  it  was 
very  good  in  Him  to  open  the  eyes  of  our  neigh- 
bor's son  ;  and  then  I  like  so  much  to  hear  Him 
talk.  But  there  is  no  other  man  in  all  the  village 
that  would  have  given  Him  such  a  fine  colt  as  that 
of  mine  was,  and  now  I  am  afraid  I  will  never  see 
it  again.  I  really  wish  I  had  thought  a  little 


246  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

before  I  let  them  have  him.'  Just  here  he  begins 
to  hear  the  general,  confused  shout :  '  Hosanna  to 
the  Son  of  David :  blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord!  Hosanna  in  the  highest!' 
The  man  looks  out,  and  the  vast  multitude  are 
coming  right  up  by  his  little  shop,  and  the  shout 
goes  up  louder  still,  'Hosanna  to  the  Son  of 
David !'  '  Why,  what  can  all  this  be  about  ?'  He 
runs  out.  The  vast  crowd  moves  up  upon  him. 
He  sees  Jesus  on  the  colt.  He  runs  out  into  the 
crowd  and  breaks  into  a  stentorian  shout:  'Ho- 
sanna !  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord!'  and  turning,  slaps  his  neighbor  on  the 
shoulder  and  exclaims :  '  That 's  my  colt  he  is  on !' 
And  now,  louder  than  ever,  he  shouts :  '  Hosanna 
to  the  Son  of  David !' 

"This  is  the  merest  outline  of  what  he  gave, 
filled  up  with  such  inimitable  wit,  such  natural- 
ness, and  occasionally  such  a  tender  pathos,  that 
the  crowd  in  one  moment  would  be  convulsed  with 
laughter  and  on  the  point  of  a  general  outburst, 
then  they  would  weep  like  children.  I  saw  the 
rough  old  backwoods  farmers  stand  —  for  the 
crowd  was  too  large  to  find  seats  —  with  a  broad 
grin  on  their  faces  just  then,  and  now  with  their 
faces  convulsed  and  the  big  tears  chasing  each 
other  down  their  bronzed  cheeks.  Many  broke 
down  and  wept  like  children.  And  the  wonder 
was  from  the  fact  that  all  this  was  produced  by  a 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  247 

discourse  about  money,  one  of  the  hardest  sub- 
jects to  reach  the  feelings  with  in  the  world. 

"  He  then  drew  the  counterpart  of  the  picture — 
a  poor,  little,  stingy  soul,  having  saved  a  large 
fortune  by  his  parsimoniousness,  yet  never  satis- 
fied ;  but  with  all  his  lands,  his  herds  and  flocks 
and  money  around  him,  he  still  bawls  out  ''More  ! 
'more!'1  He  said  if  we  approached  such  a  man 
with  the  claims  of  suffering  humanity,  at  once  he 
began  to  feel  a  twitching  of  the  nerve  of  the 
pocket  and  took  the  puckers  instanter.  His  nose 
would  become  sharp,  his  mouth  pinched,  his  face 
wrinkled,  and  his  soul  would  collapse  within  him 
and  become  transformed  into  an  old  puckered 
purse,  into  which  he  would  seem  to  creep  and  try 
to  pull  the  world  in  after  him.  If  such  a  being 
could  get  into  heaven  he  would  stand  for  a  thou- 
sand years  and  gaze  at  the  golden  streets.  And 
thus,  with  such  keen  sarcasm  and  satire,  such 
bitter  invective,  such  burning  scorn,  did  he  treat 
those  characters,  that  it  would  have  been  impos- 
sible not  to  have  felt  an  unutterable  scorn  and 
contempt  for  them.  Many  men  who  had  seldom 
given  for  any  purpose,  that  day  found  themselves 
the  subjects  of  deeds  of  most  marvelous  benev- 
olence. They  gave,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  it  won- 
drously. 

"  To  this  day  the  address  is  remembered  and 
talked  of  in  that  country,  and  when  men  solicit  a 


248  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

contribution  they  will  say,  '  Come,  now,  you  will 
be  glad  to  see  the  Lord  on  your  colt  after  a  while,' 
or,  'Don't  take  the  puckers  now.' ' 

He  was  heard  with  equal  interest  by  all  classes. 
The  man  of  education  and  high  culture  was  no 
less  impressed  than  the  "  rough  backwoodsman  " 
referred  to  by  Brother  Miller.  Even  when  in  the 
abandon  of  his  happiest  moods  he  used  terms 
that  are  commonly  ostracized  from  elegant  speech, 
as  in  the  case  given  above,  the  most  refined  for- 
gave the  approach  to  coarseness  for  the  sake  of 
the  point  and  power  with  which  they  came. 
Indeed,  there  was  a  charm  in  the  whole  spirit  of 
it  that  redeemed  a  low  word,  and  he  was  one  of 
the  rare  men  who  could  use  such  terms  without 
offense. 

He  and  Pinckard  once  visited  St.  Louis  and 
remained  several  days  with  a  view  of  arousing 
the  Methodist  public  of  the  city  upon  the  subject 
of  the  College.  The  plan  was  to  get  a  large  pub- 
lic meeting  on  some  night  in  the  week,  that 
Caples  might  deliver  a  public  address  that  should 
bring  the  enterprise  home,  and  cause  the  magni- 
tude and  importance  of  it  to  be  truly  appreciated. 
But  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  rally  the  people  of 
that  community  in  that  way.  There  never  was 
anything  like  an  adequate  audience  secured  for 
him,  and  the  address  he  made  to  the  people  of  St. 
Louis,  though  full  of  broad  views  and  important 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

suggestions,  wanted  enthusiasm.  He  felt  that  the 
occasion  was  flat.  The  audience  was  small  and 
everything  seemed  to  move  heavily.  His  friends 
and  the  friends  of  the  College  were  profoundly 
mortified  that  they  could  not  get  a  good  hearing 
for  him — not  on  his  account,  but  on  account  of  the 
cause  he  represented.  If  he  could  have  delivered 
himself  at  that  time  upon  St.  Louis  with  the  full 
power  that  was  in  him  the  endowment  fund 
would  have  been  set  forward  at  once  to  a  point 
that  would  have  brought  the  final  result  within 
easy  reach.  As  it  was,  the  agents  went  away 
discouraged  and  with  a  heavy  task  on  hand. 
But  the  great  Methodist  College  was  talked  of  a 
good  deal  in  Methodist  circles,  as  a  result  of  the 
effort,  and  possibly  a  train  of  agencies  was  started 
that  has  had  more  or  less  effect.  I  feel  very  sure 
that  the  knowledge  of  Caples'  zeal  for  its  success 
has  at  this  day,  in  the  bounds  of  the  Missouri  Con- 
ference, the  effect  of  producing  a  deeper  interest 
and  a  larger  liberality.  It  would  not  surprise  me 
if  some  one  of  his  old  friends,  in  making  a  large 
contribution  to  the  endowment,  should  erect  a 
monument  to  him  that  would  be  as  lasting  as 
the  College. 

One  fact  has  come  to  my  knowledge  since  I 
have  been  engaged  upon  this  biography,  of  which 
I  had  not  been  aware  before.  Toward  the  latter 
part  of  Mr.  Caples'  life  he  was  much  concerned 


250  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

upon  the  subject  of  a  provision  for  indigent 
orphans.  The  feeling  amounted  to  anxiety.  The 
Church,  lie  believed,  had  this  resting  upon  her  as 
an  imperative  obligation.  Here  was  a  very  large 
class  of  the  young,  exposed  to  any  fate  that 
might  befall  amid  the  corruptions  of  the  world, 
ready  to  be  gathered  into  the  fold  of  Christ  by  a 
little  care  and  charity.  Thousands  of  lambs 
abroad  in  all  weather  call  piteously  upon  the 
Church  for  shelter  and  care  that  will  prepare  them 
for  the  joys  of  the  world  to  come.  Left  to  them- 
selves they  will  scarcely  escape  the  jaws  of  the 
wolf,  or  a  more  lingering  and  pitiful  death  in  the 
storm. 

It  was  in  his  mind  to  agitate  this  enterprise  so 
soon  as  the  immediate  crisis  of  Central  College 
should  be  passed.  With  some  trusted  friends  he 
communicated  freely  on  this  matter.  He  could 
not  rest  in  view  of  the  apathy  of  the  Church  with 
respect  to  such  charities.  Where  a  field  so  wide 
and  inviting  lay  in  sight  he  could  not  comprehend 
the  indifference  of  those  who  professed  to  love 
God.  Children  were  special  objects  of  the  Savi- 
or's love,  and  surely  His  people  would  look  ten- 
derly upon  such  as  were  fatherless  in  the  world. 
Even  in  the  ruder  period  of  the  Old  Testament 
times  God  proclaimed  himself  a  Father  of  the 
fatherless  and  the  Judge  of  the  widow.  The  sor- 
rows of  bereavement  have  ever  been  held  to  have 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  251 

a  peculiar  claim  upon  sympathy ;  how  much  more 
so  when  the  lost  Mend  was  also  the  natural  pro- 
tector and  provider. 

What  his  plans  were,  or  whether  he  had  any 
that  were  at  all  mature,  I  do  not  know.  He  never 
mentioned  this  matter  to  me,  and  as  His  purposes 
did  not  ripen  into  public  effort  at  all  I  have  noth- 
ing in  detail.  A  personal  friend,  to  whom  he  did 
speak  of  it  with  great  interest,  has  given  me  what 
I  have  written,  "but  knows  nothing  more  than  the 
general  fact  that  he  felt  much,  and  upon  the 
earliest  opportunity  intended  to  move  with  vigor. 

I  can  well  believe  it.  It  was  like  him.  Sagacious 
and  generous,  from  motives  both  of  duty  and  im- 
pulse, he  was  just  the  man  to  originate  such  a 
movement  in  the  Church.  He  would  have  done 
it  for  the  sake  of  the  Church  and  for  the  sake  of 
the  children.  The  Church  he  knew  would  grow 
by  its  own  activity,  and  many  of  the  children 
would  be  saved.  Work  done  for  God  never  loses 
its  reward,  if  it  be  done  with  a  pure  motive  and  in 
faith.  Surely  work  done  for  the  comfort  of  the 
fatherless  poor  and  for  their  salvation  is  pecu- 
liarly done  for  God. 

Our  Church  in  St.  Louis  has  at  last  entered 
upon  this  field  of  Christian  labor.  Many  are 
doing  nobly.  Christian  women,  whose  names  are 
in  the  Book  of  Life,  are  devoting  time  and  thought 
and  labor.  The  service  done  by  them  in  support 


252  LIFE     OF     C  A  P  I,  E  S  . 

of  the  "  Home  "  is  arduous,  and  sometimes  even 
humiliating.  But  they  do  it  "for  His  name's 
sake/'  These  poor  children  will  "  rise  up  in  the 
last  day  and  call  them  blessed." 

Shall  we  not  now  very  soon  see  a  house  owned 
by  this  Home,  in  a  pleasant  situation  and  of 
ample  capacity  for  all  wants  ?  God  and  the  Church 
would  be  alike  honored  by  it. 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  253 


CHAPTER   XII. 


THE     W A  E . 


It  would  have  been  impossible  for  such  a  man 
as  Mr.  Caples  to  pass  through  a  period  so  stirring 
ae-  that  of  our  great  civil  war  clear  of  all  involve- 
n  ent.  Alive  as  he  was  to  all  great  human  move- 
ments, he  could  not  possibly  hold  himself  indif- 
ferent to  one  which  touched  every  true  man  to  the 
^uick.  Only  the  callous  or  the  supremely  selfish 
oould  stand  coolly  balancing  questions  of  safety 
and  interest.  Vital  questions  of  right  were  in- 
volved. With  his  sense  of  justice,  which  was  in- 
wrought into  every  fibre  of  his  moral  nature,  he 
could  be  no  silent  spectator.  Although  his  con- 
ception of  the  Christian  ministry  was  too  correct 
to  allow  the  prostitution  of  the  holy  office  to  politi- 
cal ends,  yet  privately  and  in  his  character  of 
citizen  he  did  not  hesitate  to  commit  himself.  In 
this,  as  in  every  thing  else,  he  was  outspoken — per- 
fectly so — and  delivered  himself  with  an  emphasis- 
which  the  character  of  the  events  would  evoke 
from  such  a  soul. 


254  L1FEOFCAPLES.  » 

So  far  as  the  subject  of  slavery  was  involved  in 
the  contest  he  was  well  prepared  to  decide  the 
question  for  himself.  In  his  Church  relations  he 
had  been  forced  to  investigate  that  matter.  He 
had  done  so  thoroughly.  He  had  read  every 
thing  in  our  current  literature  on  the  subject,  and 
brought  to  bear  the  powers  of  analysis  for  which 
he  was  so  remarkable.  As  a  question  involving 
conscience  he  had  answered  it  long  before.  I  had 
ample  opportunity  to  know  his  mind  from  long 
conversations  on  several  occasions  within  the  few 
years  preceding  the  war.  There  were  two  points  on 
which  he  delivered  himself  with  great  emphasis. 

The  first  was  that  the  Bible  did  not  condemn 
slavery,  but  clearly  in  the  Old  Testament  author- 
ized it  and  in  the  New  allowed  it.  It  was  estab- 
lished by  statute  in  the  civil  code  of  Moses.  It 
was  recognized,  and  the  duties  it  involved  defined 
and  enjoined,  by  the  Apostle  Paul.  It  is,  there- 
fore, not  a  question  overlooked  by  the  sacred 
writers,  but  distinctly  under  their  cognizance  and 
treated  of  by  them.  Clearly,  if  the  ownership  of 
slaves  were  sin,  they  had  occasion  to  pronounce 
upon  it.  The  Holy  Spirit,  speaking  by  them  on 
this  very  topic,  deals  with  the  relation  of  master 
and  slave,  but  never  once  condemns  it.  What, 
then,  must  be  the  audacity  of 'the  man  who  pro- 
fesses to  accept  the  Bible  as  the  word  of  God,  the 
divine  and  ultimate  standard  of  morals,  and  im- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  255 

peaches  the  Holy  Ghost  in  His  teaching  on  this 
subject. 

He  saw  that  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament 
Revelation  left  this  relation  to  be  determined  by 
the  civil  law.  They  recognized  it  as  within  the 
domain  of  the  civil  magistrate.  Slaveholding  was 
not,  like  stealing  or  adultery,  wicked  even  if  toler- 
ated by  civil  statute.  It  was  a  relation,  on  the 
contrary,  not  lying  at  the  foundation  of  essential 
morals,  and  which  might  be  established  by  the 
law  of  the  land,  and  in  that  case  is  beyond  ani- 
madversion from  the  teacher  of  religion.  This 
was,  in  substance  and  very  briefly,  his  view  on 
this  point. 

The  second  was,  that  Abolitionism  was  the 
deadliest  sin  of  modern  society.  Its  direct  ten- 
dency was  to  subvert  the  Christian  faith.  That 
done,  the  only  divine  safeguard  of  virtue  perishes. 
He  heard  the  insane  cry  for  "  an  an ti- slavery  God 
and  an  anti-slavery  Bible "  with  the  most  pro- 
found alarm.  He  had  even  heard  members  of 
so-called  Christian  Churches  say,  "  If  you  should 
convince  me  that  the  Bible  justifies  slavery,  I 
would  throw  it  away  and  trample  it  under  my 
feet."  Nor  was  this  a  mad  outburst  of  one  or  two 
fanatical  spirits,  but  a  wide-spread  sentiment  of 
Abolitionism,  in  and  out  of  the  Church.  This 
"higher  law,"  the  law  of  reason,  or  humanity,  or 
whatever  else,  that  might  set  itself  above  Holy 


256  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

Scripture,  he  saw  to  be  a  deadly  infection  of 
society,  under  which  all  simple  faith  in  the  Word 
of  God  must  perish.  That  done,  man  falls  back 
into  the  utter  darkness  and  chaos  of  unchecked, 
erratic  thought,  and  having  no  divine  centre  to 
hold  him  in  the  orbit  of  truth,  each  individual 
must  become  a  law  to  himself,  and  society  be 
ultimately  disorganized.  Worse  yet,  religion  dis 
credited  in  her  supreme  law,  the  Bible,  the  gloom 
of  the  everlasting  darkness  sets  in  upon  the 
human  soul. 

That  faith  rests  upon  a  poor  foundation  which  is 
shaken  by  humanitarian  sentimentalities.  With 
Caples  the  authority  of  the  Book  was  sufficient. 
No  theory  of  abstract  right  was  to  be  taken  as 
against  it.  Its  statements  were  all  true,  its  laws 
all  rigid,  its  teachings  all  divine.  When  you. 
have  heard  its  voice  the  last  word  has  been  spoken. 
Eliphaz  the  Temanite,  and  all  the  rest  of  them,  to 
the  generous  and  intellectual  Elihu,  may  contend 
and  dogmatize,  and  Job  may  answer  and  assever- 
ate, till  God  speaks.  '  Silence  and  submission 
must  follow  His  voice.  The  philosophy  that  finds 
fault  with  His  word  is  blasphemy.  That  word  is 
articulate  in  the  Bible  to-day,  and  the  philan- 
thropy that  sets  itself  up  to  be  purer  than  the 
teachings  of  an  apostle  of  Christ  is  of  the  wicked 
one.  The  clamor  for  an  "  anti-slavery  God "  is 
inlidel  in  the  last  degree.  Faith  bows  before  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  257 

Bible,  worships  God  and  exclaims,  "  Speak,  Lord, 
for  thy  servant  heareth."  To  the  soul  that  realizes 
its  true  relation  to  God  he  may  say  anything. 
Even  Isaac  will  be  sacrificed.  But  the  Abolition- 
ist will  not  sacrifice  Jiis  ideas  to  the  God  of  the 
Bible.  Of  course,  he  is  an  infidel. 

Just  so  the  socialist  has  ideas.  He  sees  intoler- 
able hardships  and  evils  in  the  institution  of 
marriage.  Many  hard  cases  occur.  Many  a 
Socrates  finds  that  his  spouse  is  another  Xan- 
tippe.  Men  and  their  wives  become  distasteful  to 
each  other  sometimes.  It  is  dreadful  to  bind  them 
together  till  death.  So  says  the  oracle  of  free 
love.  But  the  institution  of  marriage  is  recog- 
nized by  the  Bible.  "  Then  away  with  the  Bible." 
And  Free-loveism  rests  on  the  very  same  founda- 
tion as  Abolitionism.  Both  assail  the  Bible  from 
the  same  ground  of  attack.  With  both  it  is  dis- 
credited as  recognizing  an  institution  incompatible 
with  their  ideas  of  right.  They  are  alike  systems 
of  infidelity. 

To  Mr.  Caples  the  Bible  was  the  depository  of 
everything  that  is  good.  The  conditions  of  society 
given  under  its  sanctions,  though  the  evils  of  a 
depraved  humanity  may  evermore  appear  in  them, 
were  the  best  possible  in  the  present  state.  An 
"  incompatible  "  man  and  woman  might  feel  it  to 
be  intolerable  to  continue  through  life  in  the 

sacred  relation  of  man  and  wife,  but  an  infinitely 
17 


258  LIFE     OP     OAPLE8. 

worse  thing  would  be  the  destruction  of  the  family, 
the  very  corner  stone  of  civilization  and  virtue. 
The  father  of  a  family  may  be  a  monster,  'and  his 
administration  of  home  affairs  may  be  most  dis- 
astrous to  domestic  peace,  but  the  children  that 
are  in  the  world  are  in  infinitely  better  case  than 
could  be  possible  in  the  absence  of  the  paternal 
relation.  He  who  would  cure  the  evils  of  society 
by  abolishing  the  institutions  of  the  Bible  but 
throws  himself  from  the  reeling  ship,  which  will 
yet  survive  the  tempest,  into  the  devouring  waves 
of  the  sea. 

Mr.  Caples  did  not  deny  that  there  was  evil 
connected  with  the  relation  of  master  and  slave. 
There  is  evil  in  all  the  forms  in  which  the  relation 
between  capital  and  labor  appears.  Capital,  and 
especially  in  overcrowded  populations,  has  im- 
mense advantage  of  labor.  The  evil  is  every- 
where. But  it  is  the  evil  that  is  inherent  in  the 
depravities  of  a  fallen  world. 

Aside  from  all  reasoning  on  the  subject,  the 
fact  that  Abolitionism  bred  disrespect  for  the 
Bible  was  to  him  cause  of  anxiety.  In  this  Book 
we  have  th«  will  of  God.  Our  hope  of  heaven  is 
in  it.  All  that  is  worth  having  in  time  or  eternity 
is  there.  As  a  question  involving  religion,  then, 
he  opposed  the  Abolitionist  theory  with  all  his 
power,  and  felt  that  Churches  infested  with  it  were 
in  league  with  the  infidel.  This  was  the  more 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  259 

alarming  to  him  when  those  Churches  began  to 
take  action  in  their  ecclesiastical  assemblies  on 
political  subjects.  He  saw  that  it  was  the  enter- 
ing wedge  of  ruinous  tendencies.  When  the 
Conferences  of  the  Northern  Church  began  to 
appoint  committees  on  the  state  of  the  country 
and  adopt  resolutions  bearing  on  the  political 
issues  before  the  people,  he  thought  that  the 
American  mind  would  spurn  them  as  encroaching 
on  the  vital  traditions  against  ecclesiastical  inter- 
ference in  civil  affairs  which  he  believed  to  be 
sacred  in  the  eyes  of  the  people.  But  as  this  and 
political  preaching  began  to  become  a  recognized 
fact,  and  the  anti-slavery  fanaticism  clapped  its 
hands,  he  learned  that  nothing  was  sacred  to  it 
but  its  own  success.  The  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  an  instrument  as  sacred  with  him 
as  anything  not  emanating  directly  from  the  Bible 
could  be,  they  denounced  as  "  a  league  with  hell." 
For  it  they  seemed  to  have  lost  all  respect.  At 
length  a  President  of  the  United  States  was  elected 
with  the  celebrated  declaration  before  the  people 
that  "  the  Union  could  not  continue  to  exist  part 
slave  and  part  free."  He  was  the  candidate  of  a 
section  in  avowed  hostility  against  an  institution 
of  the  other  section,  which  was  guaranteed  by 
constitutional  compact.  He  was,  in  fact,  elected 
by  the  Abolitionist  vote. 

Mr.  Caples  participated  fully  in  the  alarm  felt 


260  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

throughout  the  South.  A  party  which  was  purely 
sectional,  in  which  many  of  the  most  influential 
men  were  avowedly  hostile  to  the  Constitution, 
and  all  of  them  determined  to  defeat  the  Constitu- 
tion in  its  protection  of  Southern  institutions, 
though  they  proposed  to  do  it  under  "constitu- 
tional forms,"  had  attained  supreme  power  in  the 
Government.  He  felt  that  the  Southern  States 
were  justified  in  resorting  to  the  extreme  measure 
of  secession.  They  had  graver  grievances,  to  use 
his  own  language,  ^than  the  thirteen  Colonies 
had  when  they  resisted  the  encroachments  of  the 
British  Government  upon  their  chartered  rights." 
He  was  a  States-Rights  Democrat,  and  believed  in 
the  right  of  secession.  Even  if  that  doctrine  were 
not  correct,  he  believed  "the  occasion  justified 
revolution." 

No  justice  can  be  done  him  with  respect  to  this 
period  of  his  life  without  referring  to  these  mat- 
ters. Officially,  he  kept  to  his  work  as  a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel ;  privately,  he  declared 
himself  on  the  questions  involved  in  the  war. 
This  was  inevitable.  Being  such  a  man  as  he 
was,  he  felt  as  only  great  souls  can  the  greatness 
of  the  wrong  (as  he  saw  it)  done  to  the  Southern 
people  by  the  party  in  power.  He  saw  that  the 
Administration  was  ready  to  destroy  the  Consti- 
tution. The  South  was  in  the  minority.  Consti- 
tutions are  made  for  minorities.  Majorities  do 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  261 

not  need  them.  The  Constitution  was  the  pan- 
oply of  the  South.  Stripped  of  this,  she  was 
ruined.  A  sectional  mob  would  do  whatever  its 
interest  or  its  hatred  might  dictate.  From  the 
first  he  was  fully  committed  on  the  side  which,  as 
he  supposed,  afforded  the  world  its  only  hope  of 
"  constitutional  freedom  ;"  and  as  for  mob  freedom, 
that  was  worse  than  any  despotism.  It  was  itself 
a  despotism — the  despotism  of  the  majority;  and 
in  this  case  the  more  intolerable  as  it  was 
charged  with  all  the  passions  and  interests  of 
a  section,  which  it  was  ready  to  assert  without 
remorse.  It  is  all  well  for  the  majority  to  rule  so 
long  as  all  essential  rights  and  interests  of  the 
minority  are  guarded  by  constitutional  provis- 
ions. But  with  that  protection  gone,  the  majority 
is  the  most  fearful  of  all  despots. 

He  had  studied  politics  more  closely  than  I 
had,  and  I  confess  that  I  listened  to  him  on  these 
topics  with  the  most  intense  interest.  Events 
already  transpiring  had  aroused  an  interest  I 
never  before  felt.  It  had  always  seemed  to  me  a 
matter  of  course  that  things  would  go  on  right  in 
"  the  Government."  What  he  said  was  a  sort  of 
revelation  to  me.  Hence  it  was  engraven  on  my 
mind,  so  that  I  could  not  forget  it  if  I  would. 
"With  such  views,  and  his  strong  sense  of  justice 
and  right,  he  could  not  but  be  a  pronounced 
advocate  of  the  Southern  cause. 


262  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

Yet  was  he  just  and  generous  toward  those  who 
differed  with  him.  If  he  was  sometimes  harsh  in 
denunciation  (and  he  was)  it  was  against  acts 
that  he  witnessed,  and  not  against  opinions.  He 
honored  men  who  identified  themselves  with  the 
Administration  when  they  pursued  a  just  course 
of  conduct.  This  I  know.  That  he  condemned 
any  vicious  and  cruel  acts  committed  by  men  of 
his  own  party  I  can  not  doubt. 

The  beginning  of  the  war  found  him  on  the 
Brunswick  District  as  Presiding  Elder.  During 
the  first  months  of  the  war  he  attended  faithfully 
to  his  work.  That  he  talked  about  the  war  more 
than  he  ought  I  do  not  doubt.  But  let  him  that 
is  without  sin  cast  the  first  stone.  That  he  was 
more  vehement  and  demonstrative  than  his  rela- 
tion to  the  work  of  Christ  would  justify  I  shall 
not  deny.  But,  as  I  have  already  said,  his  nature, 
so  decided,  so  ardent,  rendered  this  almost  inevit- 
able. I  can  not  doubt  that  it  would  have  been 
better  if  he  had  never  named  politics,  even  in  pri- 
vate. But  a  man  could  scarcely  talk  at  all  at  that 
time  if  he  did  not  talk  politics.  People  talked 
about  little  else.  All  were  excited.  The  feeling 
was  intense,  and  if  a  man  had  any  heart  he  would 
feel  the  glow  of  the  warmth  that  was  on  all  sides 
of  him.  But  the  minister  who  denied  himself  for 
Christ's  sake  at  that  time,  and  kept  his  mind  and 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  263 

tongue  employed  about  the  gospel,  and  that  alone, 
was  surely  in  the  path  of  duty. 

He  continued  on  this  district,  faithfully  dis- 
charging the  duties  of  his  office,  until  in  the  fall 
when  the  Conference  met  at  Glasgow.  There  was 
no  Bishop  in  attendance.  The  war  had  fully  set 
in.  The  Bishops  were  cut  off  from  us  in  Missouri 
by  hostile  armies.  Several  battles  had  been  fought. 
Americans  \vere  cutting  each  others'  throats.  Peace 
had  spread  her  white  wings  and  sought  another 
home.  The  vulture  gorged  herself  with  human 
flesh  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Western  plains. 

But  amid  the  tumult  the  Missouri  preachers 
assembled  in  their  annual  convocation  to  do  the 
Master's  work.  They  were  in  the  midst  of  great 
alarms.  During  the  session  Gen.  Martin  E.  Green 
entered  the  town  and  made  his  famous  crossing 
of  the  Missouri  river.  When  his  command  was 
reported  as  approaching  the  preachers,  many  of 
them,  were  excited,  not  knowing  who  they  were  nor 
what  might  happen.  The  presence  of  the  troops, 
however,  did  not  interrupt  the  business  of  the 
Conference. 

In  the  absence  of  the  Bishop  Mr.  Caples  was 
elected  President  of  the  Conference.  This,  I  be- 
lieve, was  the  first  and  only  time  he  ever  presided 
over  the  Conference.  As  will  be  seen  elsewhere, 
his  presidency  gave  great  satisfaction,  both  in  the 


264  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

general  conduct  of  the  business  and  in  the  station- 
ing of  the  preachers. 

Being  already  on  the  Brunswick  District  he 
returned  to  that  field  from  this  Conference.  This 
work,  as  I  have  good  evidence,  he  took  in  perfect 
good  faith,  intending  to  fill  it  the  year  through. 
He  returned  home  from  Conference  with  this  pur- 
pose and,  I  think,  actually  entered  upon  the  labors 
of  the  year.  But  the  war  furore  increased.  The 
battle  of  Wilson's  Creek  had  been  fought  and 
won  by  the  Confederates.  Price  was  moving  upon 
Lexington.  The  Southern  people  were  exultant. 
Central  Missouri  rushed  to  his  camp  with  great 
enthusiasm.  The  country  within  Caples'  district 
sent  immense  numbers  to  join  him.  Gen.  Price 
lived  in  that  region,  and  his  great  popularity  and 
recent  successes,  followed  up  by  this  bold  move 
upon  Lexington,  turned  all  the  young  men  wild. 
The  people  expected  him  to  cross  into  North  Mis- 
souri, and,  keeping  pace  in  the  West  with  victories 
to  be  gained  in  the  East,  to  bring  the  war  to  an 
end  in  a  very  short  period.  There  was  no  ear  for 
the  gospel.  The  public  mind  was  pre-occupied. 
The  young  men  were  all  going  to  Price.  It  was  a 
disgrace  not  to  go.  In  that  region  there  were  no 
Union  men,  or  at  least  very  few. 

In  this  state  of  affairs  Mr.  Caples  felt  that  he 
could  do  more  good  in  camps  than  on  his  district. 
He  ever  asserted  that  his  object  in  going  was  to 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  265 

preach.  He  could  preach  to  many  more  in  the 
army  than  he  could  at  home.  The  young  men 
there,  multitudes  of  whom  knew  and  loved  him, 
would  need  the  gospel.  To  counteract,  so  far  as 
might  be,  the  demoralizing  influences  of  camp 
life,  he  would  go  and  be  with  them.  He  believed 
he  could  do  them  good.  Nor  was  he  wholly 
disappointed.  Eager  thousands  crowded  to  his 
sermons,  and  to  this  day  they  do  not  tire  of  talk- 
ing about  the  wonderful  preaching  of  Caples  when 
he  was  with  them  in  the  iield. 

He  reached  the  army  while  it  was  at  Lexington, 
after  the  place  was  captured.  I  am  indebted  to 
Capt.  Harry  W.  Pliager  for  the  following  account 
of  his  connection  with  the  army  during  the  short 
time  he  remained  with  it.  Though  he  saw  but 
little  of  him,  yet,  being  at  the  same  time  connected 
with  Price's  command  in  the  commissary  depart- 
ment, he  knew  the  most  important  facts,  and  has 
kindly  furnished  them  to  me.  He  had  known 
him  intimately,  loved  him  deeply,  and  felt  a  lively 
interest  in  his  movements. 

The  Captain  deplores  the  paucity  of  materials 
in  his  possession,  but  his  account  is  the  fullest  I 
have,  and  is  as  follows  : 

"  A  few  days  after  the  surrender  of  Lexington, 
Missouri,  while  we  were  encamped  around  the  city 
enjoying  the  fruits  of  our  victory,  a  number  of 
our  friends  from  Brunswick  came  up  to  see  us, 


260  LIFE     OP     CAPLES. 

some  with  the  intention  to  join  the  army  and  some 
only  to  visit  their  friends.  We  had  now  been  out 
some  three  or  four  months,  and  were  glad  to  see 
our  friends  and  have  an  opportunity  once  more 
to  hear  direct  from  home.  The  Rev.  W.  G.  Caples 
was  among  the  number  who  came  to  join  us,  and 
there  was  none  whom  we  were  more  pleased  to 
see.  He  had  many  warm  friends  in  the  army,  and 
he  was  warmly  received  by  his  friends,  and  also 
by  Gen.  Price,  especially  when  it  became  known 
that  he  had  come  with  the  intention  to  join  us. 
In  a  few  days  Gen.  Price  received  information 
that  there  was  a  large  force  of  Federals  coming 
up  the  river  from  St.  Louis,  and  other  forces  con- 
centrating from  other  points,  and  while  he  had 
men  enough  he  had  comparatively  few  arms  and 
less  ammunition  for  them,  and  was  consequently 
not  in  a  condition  to  meet  a  large  force,  well 
armed  and  supplied  with  ammunition,  and  a  day 
or  two  after  we  received  orders  to  be  in  readiness 
to  march,  which  we  did  the  next  day.  There 
were  many  sad  heart?  and  disappointed  hopes 
when  the  line  of  our  march  was  taken  up  south- 
ward. Many  who  had  come  with  the  intention  to 
join  us  remembered  suddenly  that  they  had  busi- 
ness at  home  which  they  could  not  possibly  leave, 
and  they  would  have  to  return  home.  Alas !  such 
was  the  case  with  too  many,  and  the  main  cause 
of  our  final  expulsion  from  the  State.  They  were 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  267 

willing  to  remain  with  tlie  army  while  it  remained 
near  their  homes,  but  they  were  not  willing  to 
leave  home  to  share  its  fortunes  and  fate.  Mr. 
Caples,  however,  was  not  one  of  those.  He  re- 
mained with  us  on  our  march  south,  and  although 
he  had  no  regular  appointment  as  chaplain  (as 
far  as  I  can  remember)  he  preached  among  the 
different  commands  as  often  as  he  had  oppor- 
tunity, doing  much  good,  not  only  by  his  preach- 
ing, but  also  by  his  example.  He  was  ever  lively 
and  cheerful,  and  had  a  kind  word  to  say  to  every 
one.  After  the  day's  march  was  over  there  would 
generally  a  crowd  of  friends  gather  around  him 
to  hear  him  discuss  the  incidents  of  the  day,  and 
to  hear  him  relate  anecdotes,  of  which  he  had  a 
rich  store.  On  the  march  he  was  always  ready 
to  lend  a  helping  hand  where  there  was  a  bridge 
to  build  across  a  small  stream  or  a  wagon  to  lift 
out  of  a  mud  hole,  thereby  encouraging  others. 

"  Gen.  Price  seemed  to  regard  him  very  highly, 
not  only  as  a  personal  friend,  but  being  a  man  of 
quick  perception  and  good  judgment,  he  would 
frequently  converse  with  him  about  the  condition 
of  affairs  and  surrounding  circumstances.  While 
in  camp  at  Jack  river  (I  think)  some  of  the  regi- 
ments were  re- organizing  and  he  was  strongly 
solicited  by  some  of  his  friends  to  run  for  Colonel 
of  one  of  the  regiments,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
would  have  been  elected,  but  he  declined — not  that 


268  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

he  was  afraid  to  fill  that  position,  but  he  believed 
that  his  duty  called  him  in  another  sphere,  where 
he  could  accomplish  more  real  good.  Somewhere 
about  the  last  of  November,  1861,  Mr.  Caples, 
under  instructions  from  General  Price,  returned 
to  Chariton  county  to  assist  in  raising  and  bring- 
ing out  some  recruits.  Captain  Barr,  from  Bruns- 
wick, was  then  organizing  a  company,  and  about 
the  18th  of  December  they  were  ready  to  start 
for  the  army,  and  crossed  the  river  with  the  inten- 
tion of  joining  some  recruits  then  rendezvousing 
in  Saline  county,  under  the  command  of  a  Colonel 
Robinson.  They  joined  Colonel  Robinson's  com- 
mand the  next  day,  and  he  being  the  senior  officer 
took  command  of  all  the  recruits.  They  then 
took  up  their  line  of  march  south  to  join  the  army, 
and  proceeded  as  far  as  Blackwater,  where  they 
arrived  in  the  morning,  after  having  marched  all 
night. 

"  Colonel  Robinson  gave  orders  to  remain  in 
camp  all  day,  intending  to  march  again  at  night. 
I  afterward  learned  that  Mr.  Caples  was  opposed 
to  remaining  in  camp  all  day,  as  they  were  en- 
camped in  a  place  from  which  there  would  be  no 
way  of  escape  (as  was  afterward  proven)  in  case 
of  an  attack.  The  Federals  had  learned  of  the 
camp  in  Saline  county  and  were  keeping  a  sharp 
lookout  for  them,  and  were  concentrating  their 
forces  at  Warreiisburg  and  several  other  points, 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  269 

and  they  were  not  long  in  receiving  intelligence 
of  the  camp  at  Blackwater  Bridge.  Colonel  R. 
felt  so  secure  in  his  hidden  retreat  that  he  even 
failed  to  send  out  pickets  any  considerable 
distance,  consequently  the  enemy  came  down 
upon  them  like  a  thunder-clap,  without  any 
warning,  and  but  very  few  were  able  to  make 
their  escape.  Our  friend,  Mr.  Caples,  was  among 
the  unfortunate  who  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  and  was  sent  to  St.  Louis.  (I  regret 
that  I  am  not  able  to  give  a  better  description  or 
a  more  accurate  and  detailed  account  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Blackwater ;  but  not  being  present  I,  of 
course,  know  only  what  I  afterward  learned  from 
some  of  those  who  made  their  escape,  and  most 
of  what  I  then  learned  in  regard  to  it  I  have  for- 
gotten.) The  next  I  saw  of  Mr.  Caples  was  at 
Glasgow,  after  he  had  received  that  fatal  wound. 
I  went  with  the  party  who  went  to  capture  the 
town.  Soon  after  we  entered  the  town  I  learned 
of  his  misfortune  and  went  to  see  him.  I  shall 
never  forget  my  feelings  when  I  saw  him.  I  had 
seen  many  a  one  wounded  before,  but  never  was 
I  so  much  shocked  as  when  I  saw  him.  He  seemed 
glad  to  see  me,  received  me  with  a  smile,  and 
although  he  was  much  exhausted  and  very  weak 
from  loss  of  blood,  he  conversed  quite  freely,  told 
me  how  he  had  been  persecuted  and  his  life  threat- 
ened, how  hard  it  seemed  that  just  as  deliverance 


270  LIFE     OF     OAPLBS. 

was  at  hand  lie  had  to  be  stricken  down,  and  that, 
too,  by  friends.  But  his  Christian  fortitude  and 
resignation  did  not  forsake  him  in  this  trying 
hour.  He  said  it  was  the  Master's  will,  and  he 
was  ready  to  obey  the  call.  I  called  again  later 
in  the  evening,  but  he  was  asleep,  and  I  did  not 
see  him.  I  left  town  that  evening  and  did  not  get 
to  see  him  again." 

There  is  one  fact  not  mentioned  in  this  narra- 
tive. During  the  time  he  was  out  he  made  a  tour 
in  Northen  Arkansas,  with  Judge  Atchison,  deliv- 
ering public  addresses,  with  a  view  of  inducing 
the  men  of  that  State  to  volunteer  and  assist  Gen. 
Price  to  prevent  the  advance  of  the  enemy  into 
their  territory. 

Though  he  had  gone  with  the  express  purpose 
of  preaching,  and  this  alone,  he  was  led  into  this 
direct  participation  in  the  contest.  There  was  no 
man  at  hand  who  could  make  popular  speeches 
with  such  effect  as  he.  His  services  were  deemed 
essential.  He  yielded  to  importunity  and  under- 
took to  "  stump  "  some  counties  in  Arkansas.  I 
regret  that  he  did  so.  Yet  with  the  pressure  that 
was  upon  him  it  would  have  been  next  to  impos- 
sible for  him  to  refuse.  His  great  personal  popu- 
larity led  the  General  to  engage  him  in  the  recruit- 
ing expedition  in  which  he  was  captured.  He 
desired  to  see  his  family  and  arrange,  as  well  as 
might  be,  for  their  well-being  in  his  absence. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  271 

The  army  was  in  great  need  of  supplies  at  the 
same  time,  especially  of  winter  clothing.  His  own 
necessities  in  this  particular  were  pressing.  All 
these  motives  led  to  his  visit  to  Chariton.  While 
there  he  did  what  he  could  to  collect  supplies  and 
enlist  volunteers.  The  disastrous  end  of  the  effort 
is  given  in  Capt.  Pflager's  narrative. 

Mr.  Caples  told  me  he  could,  for  himself,  have 
escaped  capture.  His  •  friends  strongly  advised 
him  to  do  so.  Being  well  mounted  he  could  have 
retreated  under  cover  of  a  skirt  of  woods  with  the 
utmost  ease.  But  many  of  the  young  men  who 
must  inevitably  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy 
had  been  by  their  parents  committed  especially 
to  his  care  and  oversight.  They  had  been  given 
up  to  the  service  for  the  reason,  in  part,  that  they 
would  be,  in  a  measure,  under  his  guardianship. 
And  now  that  the  evil  day  had  come  he  could  not 
think  of  abandoning  them.  At  whatever  cost  he 
would  share  their  fate  with  them. 

That  fate  was  hard  enough.  They  were  all 
marched  off  to  the  railroad  for  shipment  to  St. 
Louis.  In  vain  did  he  plead  for  the  use  of  his  own 
horse.  In  vain  did  his  friends  urge  his  inability 
to  make  the  march  on  foot.  There  was  little 
mercy  in  those  days.  In  the  weary  march  he  felt 
that  he  would  fall  to  the  earth.  I  heard  him  say 
that  just  when  he  was  ready  to  drop  young 
Watts  came  up,  generous  as  he  was  robust,  and 


272  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

said :  "  Here,  Brother  Caples,  take  my  arm."  How 
gratefully  he  spoke  of  this!  With  this  aid  he 
dragged  along  and  reached,  at  last,  the  end  of  the 
road. 

They  were  all  crowded  into  box  cars  on  the  rail- 
road, and  slowly  trundled  off  to  the  city.  Not 
the  slightest  regard  was  had  for  their  comfort. 
They  were  pressed  into  these  close  cars  until  they 
were  so  packed  that  all  were  compelled  to  stand 
upon  their  feet.  There  was  no  room  to  sit.  There 
was  almost  no  ventilation.  Though  the  weather 
was  bitter  cold  they  became  moist  with  perspira- 
tion. There  was  a  sense  of  suffocation.  He  was 
happy  who  could  place  his  nose  at  a  little  open- 
ing. The  air  became  noxious.  Accumulating 
excrement  added  to  the  misery.  Slowly  the  train 
moved  on,  making  frequent  and  long  stops  for 
wood  and  water  and  other  trains.  No  pains  were 
taken  to  relieve  their  distress.  Hours  grew  into 
days.  There  they  stood  on  their  feet,  weary,  suf- 
focated, and  no  hand  opened  a  door  to  let  in  the 
fresh  air.  Nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  was  done 
looking  to  any  mitigation  of  the  horrors  of  their 
situation.  Cattle  brought  to  market  would  have 
been  treated  with  more  humanity. 

At  last  they  are  in  the  city.  Now  relief  will 
come.  Now  they  will  get  air!  An  hour  passes. 
Another.  Hour  after  hour  there  they  stand  after 
the  cars  arrive.  I  can  communicate  no  such  im- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  273 

pression  of  the  horror  of  the  situation  in  writing 
as  he  did  to  me  in  a  detailed  narrative  of  it. 

At  last  out  of  the  pent  air,  moist  with  perspira- 
tion— out  of  the  steaming  boxes  in  which  they 
had  been  so  long  confined — they  were  turned  into 
a  bitter  winter  wind  from  the  northwest.  Instantly 
they  were  chilled  through  and  through.  In  a  few 
minutes  their  teeth  chattered.  The  revulsion  was 
fearful. 

From  the  cars  they  were  marched  off  to  Gratiot 
street  prison,  which  had  been  prepared  with  great 
economy  of  space  and  means.  They  were  already 
chilled  in  their  moist  clothing,  and  with  the  nerv- 
ous system  relaxed  from  the  impure  atmosphere 
and  warmth  of  the  crowded  cars.  Their  present 
quarters  were  inadequately  heated.  The  floors 
soon  became  damp.  In  a  day  or  two  pneumonia 
appeared.  Great  numbers  were  soon  prostrated. 
JS"o  medical  attendance  was  provided  for  several 
days.  There  were  several  physicians  among  the 
prisoners.  They  asked  for  medicines  but  got  none. 
The  patients  began  to  die.  Their  own  medicine 
chest,  captured  Avith  them,  lay  in  sight  from  their 
windows.  They  implored  the  privilege  of  a  sup- 
ply from  its  contents.  No  attention  was  paid  to 
their  prayer.  The  sickness  increased.  The  mor- 
tality became  frightful.  In  three  weeks  tliey  were 
more  than  decimated.  If  the  treatment  of  the 

18 


274  L  I  F  K    OK    C  A  P  L  E  3  . 

prisoners  had  had  this  end  in  view  it  could  not 
have  been  more  sagaciously  ordered. 

In  a  week  or  two  Mr.  Caples  addressed  a  note 
to  two  of  his  friends  in  the  cityx  informing  them 
that  the  food  he  received  was  loathsome  to  his 
palate  and  rebelled  against  by  his  stomach.  He 
begged  them  to  send  him  fruit  and  pickles.  They 
took  a  jar  of  pickles  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
regiment  which  was  guarding  the  prison.  The 
officer  in  command  hesitated,  deferred  the  matter, 
and  after  two  days  let  them  know  that  the  pickles 
could  not  be  sent  in.  The  contemplated  barrel 
of  apples  was,  therefore,  never  sent. 

His  incarceration  lasted,  I  think,  not  more  than 
five  or  six  weeks.  In  this  time  he  preached  when- 
ever circumstances  would  allow.  It  was  about 
the  first  of  February,  I  believe,  that  the  prisoners 
captured  on  Blackwater  were  transferred  to  the 
Alton  Penitentiary.  Mr.  Caples  was  made  an  ex- 
ception, in  view,  no  doubt,  of  his  high  character 
as  a  clergyman.  He  was  released  on  parole. 

Suddenly,  unannounced,  he  appeared  on  the 
corner  of  Pine  and  Fifth  streets.  A  number  of  the 
members  of  the  Church  were  in  attendance  upon  the 
afternoon  meeting.  He  was  well  known  to  them. 
I  was  then  the  pastor  of  the  Centenary  Church. 
The  joy  we  all  felt  was  like  that  of  the  Disciples 
when  Peter  stood  at  the  gate,  and  they  all  "  be- 
lieved not  for  joy  and  wondered.1'  At  night  he 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  275 

was  at  Church  and  concluded  the  service,  which 
fact  was  duly  criticised  by  the  newspapers.  He 
spent  the  night  with  me  at  Brother  Ricords'.  Our 
hearts  were  full.  We  had  many  things  to  talk  of, 
and  were  little  disposed  to  sleep.  The  clock 
struck  one,  two,  three,  and  we  had  not  yet  thought 
of  repose.  I  never  saw  him  in  a  better  mood. 
You  would  not  have  believed  that  he  could  have 
any  occasion  of.  anxiety.  Yet  he  expected  soon 
to  be  exchanged  and  go  South,  leaving  his  family. 
I  never  saw  such  power  to  cast  off  trouble  in  any 
other  man.  Even  while  in  prison  he  never  fell 
into  a  gloomy  state  of  feeling. 

The  camp,  the  prison,  even  the  hospital  and  the 
battle-field  will  furnish,  now  and  then,  its  joke. 
While  in  the  Gratiot  street  prison  one  of  the  offi- 
cers, whose  negro  servant  had  been  captured  with 
him,  came  to  Caples  with  a  very  serious  expres- 
sion and  told  him  that  Tom  was  in  great  distress, 
and  that  as  he  was  a  minister  he  would  be  glad 
for  him  to  talk  with  the  boy.  They  accordingly 
went  to  the  officer's  apartment  and  there  stood 
Tom,  with  his  back  to  the  fire,  a  coal  black  young 
negro,  six  feet  high,  raw-boned,  cadaverous,  and 
the  very  picture  of  grief.  "  Mr.  Caples,"  said  the 
gentleman,  "  Tom  was  to  have  been  married  up 
in  Saline  county,  Christmas  eve ;  that's  to-morrow, 
and  here  he  is.  If  he  were  released  even  now  it 
would  be  impossible  for  him  to  meet  his  engage- 


276  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

ment.  His  trouble  is  almost  killing  him,  and  I 
thought  as  you  were  a  preacher  you  might  offer 
him  some  consolation."  "  Never  mind,  Tom," 
said  C.,  "  this  won't  last  always.  You'll  get  home 
some  day,  and  if  it  should  be  forty  years  you  will 
find  her  the  same  loving  girl  she  is  now."  At  the 
mention  of  forty  years  Tom  broke  completely 
down  and  blubbered  out :  "  I  never  can  stand  it ! " 
Poor  boy,  whether  he  ever  saw  his  wedding  day 
or  not  I  do  not  know.  The  last  I  ever  heard  of 
him  he  was  standing  there  before  the  fire,  sobbing. 
Most  likely  he  is  dead  now. 

That  night  —  the  first  after  his  release  from 
prison  —  was  the  last  we  ever  spent  together. 
Much  of  the  matter  of  this  chapter  must  be 
credited  to  the  conversations  of  that  interview. 
Though  he  was  cheerful,  yet  much  of  the  conversa- 
tion was  profoundly  serious.  He  felt !  His  first 
sanguine  hopes  as  to  the  duration  of  the  war  had 
been  dispelled.  He  then  foresaw  years  of  distress 
and  bloodshed.  Like  so  many  other  religious 
men  of  the  time,  however,  he  looked  confidently 
to  a  happy  issue.  The  cause,  they  said,  was  just, 
and  God  would  see  to  it  that  the  just  cause  should 
triumph!  As  if  every  just  cause  had  triumphed 
in  this  fallen  world!  Before  this  can  be,  the 
depraved  conditions  in  which  society  moves  along 
its  course  must  be  removed,  or  at  least  greatly 
mitigated  from  any  state  of  things  realized  in  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  277 

past.  It  must  be  in  another  world  that  justice 
and  truth  shall  be  crowned.  He  will  yet  witness 
his  long-dela)Ted  hope,  not  in  the  low  conditions 
of  an  earthly  triumph,  which  must  yet  in  its  best 
estate  contain  much  evil,  but  in  the  ultimate  elim- 
ination of  all  the  evil  that  is  in  even  the  best 
human  movements,  and  the  final  coronation  of 
Truth  and  Love.  Had  his  cause  succeeded  he 
would  have  found  unexpected  evils  appearing  in 
the  very  hour  of  victory.  Before  he  died  he  had 
learned  to  wait,  with  a  purified  trust,  God's  own 
good  time  for  all  consummations,  and  to  accept 
God's  own  methods  with  a  deeper  sense  of  the 
unapproachable  wisdom  of  His  ways. 

The  next  morning  we  walked  together  down 
Olive  street  to  Sixth  and  parted.  I  never  saw  him 
again.  Our  hearts  had  been  fused  and  flowed 
together  yet  more  perfectly  than  before  in  that 
last  meeting.  From  that  day  we  went  our  several 
ways.  They  diverged  and  we  met  no  more.  I 
scarcely  ever  think  of  him  but  that  I  recall  that 
last  walk  and  the  parting  on  the  corner  of  the 
street.  Through  infinite  saving  mercy  I  hope  to 
walk  with  him  again  along  the  streets  of  another 
city. 

From  that  time,  so  far  as  this  world  is  concerned, 
Mr.  Caples'  life  was  under  a  shadow.  He  was  never 
exchanged,  as  he  expected  to  be.  Soon  after 
reaching  home  in  Brunswick  the  ill  health  of  his 


278  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

eldest  daughter,  Charlotte,  assumed  a  character 
which  indicated  clearly  her  approaching  death. 
Every  consideration  of  parental  love  and  duty  for- 
bade his  leaving  her.  The  circumstances  of  his 
family  were  such  that  he  could  not  be  spared. 
By  taking  an  oath  prescribed  by  the  authorities 
he  might  remain.  The  oath  was  most  distasteful 
to  him.  To  take  it  was  humiliating.  But  to  leave 
his  family  in  the  circumstances  would  be  to  violate 
the  highest  considerations  of  parental  duty  and 
domestic  obligation.  Duty  to  a  man's  own  family 
is  paramount.  Their  claims  stand  first.  Failure 
here  is  worse  than  infidelity.  When  a  man  like 
him  is  under  the  leverage  both  of  conscience  and 
affection  there  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  result, 
no  matter  how  strong  the  motive  may  be  to  take 
another  course. 

He  took  the  oath,  and  his  conscience  was  bound 
by  it.  He  took  no  sophistical  sedatives  with  it. 
He  did  not  admit  to  himself  that  he  might  inno- 
cently trifle  with  the  name  of  God  to  which  he  had 
appealed.  He  was  not  forced  to  swear.  He  did 
it  freely  as  the  alternative  to  be  chosen  in  prefer- 
ence to  something  worse.  The  necessity  was  an 
incident  of  the  war.  He  submitted  to  it  and  all  it 
involved.  He  took  the  oath,  and,  to  the  best  of 
my  knowledge  and  belief,  kept  it  inviolate. 

Another  motive  for  taking  the  oath  was,  that 
by  doing  so  he  would  obtain  liberty  to  preach. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  279 

He  might,  perhaps,  have  remained  at  home  on  his 
parole  an  indefinite  length  of  time.  But  the  privi- 
lege of  preaching  was  denied  him. 

The  following  facts  have  been  supplied,  for  the 
most  part,  by  Rev.  James  O.  Swinney,  relating  to 
the  time  that  elapsed  between  his  release  from 
imprisonment  and  the  close  of  his  life. 

The  conditions  of  his  release  were  that  he  should 
give  his  parole  not  to  bear  arms  nor  recruit  for  the 
Southern  army,  and  that  he  should  not  leave  the 
State  of  Missouri.  Soon  after  he  was  forbidden 
to  preach  under  pairr  of  imprisonment.  Hard  as 
was  the  condition  he  yielded  to  it,  believing  that  it 
would  not  be  long  required  of  him  and  because  of 
his  anxiety  to  be  with  his  family,  and  for  the  fur- 
ther reason  that  privately  and  by  correspondence 
he  could  still  work  for  the  Church  and  exert  some 
influence  for  good  in  various  ways,  which  would 
be  utterly  impossible  if  he  were  confined  in  prison. 

How  irksome  such  restraint  was  to  a  man  of  his 
spirit  and  habits  can  well  be  imagined.  To  see 
the  dangers  of  the  Church,  the  rapid  decline  of 
piety  around  him  and  the  alarming  increase  of 
vice  of  every  description,  and  not  be  allowed  to 
raise  his  voice  in  such  time  of  need  was  more  than 
he  could  bear.  He  applied  to  the  nearest  officer 
for  a  release.  After  considerable  delay  and  corre- 
spondence with  the  Provost-Marshal  General,  in 
St.  Louis,  he  was  told  that  his  request  would  be 


280  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

granted  providing  he  would  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  United  States  Government.  This 
was  the  crisis  with  him  the  grand  point  of  his 
trial.  A  States-Rights  Democrat,  fully  committed 
and  ardently  espousing  the  Southern  view  of  the 
questions  then  at  issue — believing  implicitly  that 
the  South  would  be  eventually  successful — he 
hesitated  long  to  accept  a  condition  which  would 
sever  him  from  the  people  he  loved  and  impliedly 
make  him  their  enemy.  For  months  he  prayed 
and  reasoned,  wept  and  sought  for  the  line  of 
duty.  Banishment  or  self-exile  seemed  preferable. 
But  the  pressing  demands  of  the  Church  in  Mis- 
souri, the  interests  of  his  family  and  the  warning 
voice,  "  Wo  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel,'.' 
so  terrible  to  him  at  times,  all  combined  at  last  to 
bring  him  to  the  determination  to  take  the  pre- 
scribed oath  and  stay  at  home  and  preach.  There 
was  no  "  mental  reservation "  in  this  oath-taking 
with  him,  as  others  by  wicked  sophistry  have 
asserted  might  be  done  with  impunity.  Had  there 
been  he  could  not  have  hesitated  so  long. 

He  preached  irregularly  until  the  Conference  at 
Fulton,  which  met  in  October,  1863,  from  which 
he  was  appointed  to  Glasgow  station.  Here  he 
had  many  vexations.  Ingenious  efforts  were  made 
to  entangle  him,  publicly  and  even  in  the  pulpit, 
in  political  issues.  With  great  forbearance  and 
good  sense  he  avoided  it,  preaching  only  the  clear 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  281 

doctrines  of  the  Word  of  God,  His  enemies  were 
baffled,  and  his  friends  felt  that  he  had  met  the 
emergency  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  Christian  min- 
istry. During  the  whole  term  of  his  pastorate  he 
was  assiduous  in  the  discharge  of  its  duties,  visit- 
ing much,  especially  the  poor  and  sick,  holding 
prayer-meetings,  leading  the  classes,  attending 
the  Sunday-school  and  doing  with  his  might  what 
his  hand  found  to  do  for  the  salvation  of  the  souls 
committed  to  his  charge.  There  was,  within  this 
time,  a  revival  of  considerable  interest  in  the 
Church  and  quite  a  number  professed  conversion, 
in  spite  of  the  uproar  of  war  in  the  country. 

The  charges  and  censures  of  enemies  he  met 
mildly  and  kindly.  However  unreasonable  or 
aggravating  the  accusations  brought  against  him, 
he  retained  a  constant  equanimity  of  temper, 
which  placed  him  above  criticism.  All  military 
orders,  though  made  expressly  to  annoy  him,  he 
obeyed  promptly  and  cheerfully. 

His  friends,  knowing  the  animosity  of  certain 
parties  against  him  and  fearing  for  his  safety, 
advised  him  to  leave  the  State.  He  refused  to  do 
so,  declaring  that  he  would  rather  die  at  his  post 
than  desert  the  Church  at  such  a  time. 

From  the  Mexico  Conference,  Oct.,  1864,  he  was 
re-appointed  to  Glasgow.  He  was  still  unremit- 
ting in  his  visiting  and  praying  with  the  people. 
But  the  sky  darkened  above  him.  There  was 


282  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

much  sickness  in  his  family.  He  was  full  of 
anxiety  on  their  account.  Much  of  his  time  was 
taken  up  in  nursing.  In  the  midst  of  it  all  his 
houSe  was  almost  turned  into  soldiers'  quarters. 
It  was  with  difficulty  he  could  get  enough  to  feed 
them  and  his  family.  He  always  received  them 
cheerfully  and  fed  them  with  the  best  he  could 
procure.  Yet  these  very  men,  while  consuming 
his  substance,  openly  threatened  his  life.  His 
enemies  were  becoming  more  and  more,  malignant. 
All  felt,  and  he  knew,  that  his  life  was  in  constant 
peril  In  spite  of  the  perfect  propriety  and  the 
unimpeachable  integrity  of  his  course,  in  spite  of 
the  conscientious  observance  of  his  oath,  there 
were  men  whose  malignity  could  be  satisfied  with 
nothing  short  of  his  death.  Of  this  he  was  not 
ignorant.  Yet  never  for  a  moment  did  he  lose 
either  his  courage  or  his  cheerfulness.  Even  when 
partisan  fury  was  so  insane  and  the  reign  of  terror 
so  complete  that  his  friends  did  not  dare  to  defend 
him  against  the  unjust  and  unfounded  suspicions 
of  his  enemies,  the  self-possessed  dignity  of  his 
bearing  was  the  wonder  of  all.  You  could  not 
have  imagined  that  the  thought  of  danger  was  in 
his  mind.  Perhaps  the  real  greatness  of  the  man 
was  never  so  fully  seen  as  in  the  sustained  courage 
with  which  he  bore  himself  amid  the  terrors  of 
that  most  unhappy  time.  He  rested  with  perfect 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  283 

tranquillity  in  the  consciousness  of  his  own  in- 
tegrity and  in  the  assured  mercies  of  his  God. 

True  to  his  oath  but  steadfast  to  his  principles, 
while  he  was  neither  spy  nor  informer,  he  was  just 
as  far  from  being  a  truckler  to  the  petty  despotism 
of  the  hour.  He  never  lowered  his  head  in  un- 
worthy supplications  for  mercy  from  the  men  who 
had  no  just  ground  of  accusation  against  him. 
He  did  his  duty,  gave  no  cause  of  offense,  and 
awaited  the  issue  without  trepidation.  In  the 
presence  of  those  who  had  his  life  in  their  power, 
and  at  the  same  time  were  not  indisposed  to  take 
it,  he  never  cringed  nor  gave  the  slightest  token  of 
unworthy  fear.  He  gave  them  the  respect  due  to 
their  position,  but  nothing  more.  His  deportment 
was  self-respecting,  and  in  the  trying  and  delicate 
situation  he  was  in,  every  way  becoming.  So 
strikingly  true  was  this  that  his  friends  were 
greatly  impressed  by  it  and  speak  of  it  with 
gratulation  to  this  day. 

"  A  merciful  Providence,"  says  one  of  them, 
"  directed  the  shell  that  removed  him  before  the 
increasing  malice  of  cruel  men  had  ventured  to 
murder  him.  Had  he  lived  until  after  Shelby's 
men  left  Glasgow,  I  doubt  not  his  had  been  a 
worse  fate  than  Robberson's." 

All  this  while  God  was  finishing  his  work  in 
the  man.  The  Divine  Artificer  was  giving  the  last 
strokes,  bringing  his  soul  into  forms  of  grace  and 


284  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

beauty  for  a  place  in  the  house  not  made  with 
hands.  The  work  was  almost  done.  These  were 
the  final  humiliations  which  were  the  prelude  of 
the  glory  just  at  hand.  From  the  insults  of  men 
he  was  about  to  be  taken  into  the  society  of  angels. 
He  had  come,  consciously,  very  near  to  God  in 
faith.  He  was  now  just  ready  to  see  Him  face  to 
face.  The  shadows  were  heavy,  but  the  dawn  had 
already  touched  the  East.  The  gates  of  glory 
were  in  sight.  Pulses  of  heavenly  music  fell  upon 
his  ear.  He  was  upon  the  threshold  of  immortality. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  285 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


THE    MAN,    CAPLES. 

I  should  judge  that  Mr.  Caples  was  about  five 
feet  nine  or  ten  inches  in  hight,  and  weighed  a 
hundred  and  forty-five  or  fifty  pounds.  His  shoul- 
ders drooped  forward  considerably.  The  head 
was  rather  thin  through  the  temples,  but  from  the 
front  backward  it  was  very  deep,  giving  ample 
brain-room.  His  hair  was  black,  rather  thin,  and, 
although  never  worn  long  enough  to  indicate 
affectation,  was  never  trimmed  close.  The  gen- 
eral impression  was  that  his  eyes  were  black,  but 
a  very  intimate  friend,  who  was  with  him  much 
and  who  loved  him  deeply,  agrees  with  me  that 
they  were  a  very  dark  brown — not  quite  black. 
The  under  jaw  was  heavy,  with  an  angular  curve 
which  gave  a  decided  expression — an  expression 
of  quiet  strength.  The  nose  was  not  Roman,  nor 
yet  was  it  of  the  opposite  type.  It  was  rather 
broad,  and  at  the  lower  extremity  heavy.  The 
forehead  was  high,  the  complexion  sallow.  When 


286  LIFE     OP     CAPLES. 

in  repose  he  would  be  considered  homely,  though 
the  forehead  and  eye  were  always  imposing. 
When  animated  in  the  pulpit  he  was  remarkably 
fine  looking.  At  such  times  his  presence  was 
commanding  in  a  very  high  degree,  and  was  in 
keeping  with  the  wonderful  sermons  he  preached. 

He  was,  in  the  fullest  meaning  of  that  word,  an 
Jionest  man.  If  there  was  no  other  proof  of  it, 
the  fact  given  elsewhere  that  he  paid  a  debt  con- 
tracted in  the  first  two  years  of  his  ministry  by 
chopping  cord  wood  would  be  sufficient.  Some 
men  see  dishonor  in  hard  work,  and  imagine  them- 
selves to  be  gentlemen  while  their  creditors  go 
unpaid.  By  him  the  dishonor  was  seen  on  the 
other  side.  There  could  be  no  honor  where  there 
was  not  honesty,  and  honesty  required  payment 
of  debts,  at  whatever  cost  of  labor. 

His  "  diary "  contains  abundant  evidence  of 
thoughtfulness  in  expenditures.  A  man  on  a 
limited  salary  may  be  dishonest  just  through 
carelessness.  There  must  be  prudent  forethought. 
He  well  understood  this  and  was  careful  not  to 
allow  expenses  to  outrun  receipts.  Every  thing 
was  carefully  noted  and  paid  for  when  purchased. 

His  generosity  to  the  poor  has  been  mentioned 
in  another  place.  His  gratitude  for  kindnesses 
shown  to  himself  was  not  less  marked.  In  that 
last  sad  year  of  his  life  through  which  his  diary 
runs,  mention  is  made,  with  simple  hearted  ten- 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  287 

derness,  of  several  instances  of  thoughtful  atten- 
tion shown  him  by  various  friends.  I  can  not 
forbear  citing  one  or  two  instances,  there  is  so 
much  heart  in  them.  I  quote  from  the  diary : 

"  1863,  N"ov.  9  Set  up  housekeeping.  Sister 
Swinney  shows  her  kindness  by  sending  "  house- 
hold supplies,"  the  various  items  all  mentioned. 
He  then  adds  :  "  Heaven  bless  her." 

"  1864,  April  4.  Bro.  D.  White  brought  me  a 
very  large  load  of  wood.  God  bless  him,  for  he 
would  take  nothing  from  me." 

No  truer  hearted  friend  ever  lived  than  he. 
Some  are  more  demonstrative,  more  given  to  pro- 
testations, but  none  could  be  relied  on  more  fully 
in  the  day  of  trial.  The  warmth  of  his  nature 
led  him  to  form  many  warm  friendships,  both 
among  the  preachers  and  private  members  of  the 
Church.  He  never  seemed  to  say  to  himself,  and 
certainly  never  to  them,  that  there  was  special 
partiality.  Yet  it  was  very  apparent  to  all  that 
there  were  some  whom  he  loved  with  uncommon 
tenderness.  I  could  name  several,  but  it  is  not 
necessary.  His  heart,  indeed,  was  warm  toward 
all  in  whom  he  reposed  confidence.  But  even  the 
Perfect  Man,  the  Son  of  Man,  indulged  certain 
special  endearments.  John  was  the  "  disciple 
whom  Jesus  love.d."  In  the  lovely  family  of  Beth- 
any he  found  congenial  spirits  to  whose  home 
he  repaired  in  the  evenings  and  under  whose 


288  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

roof  he  found  shelter  at  night  when  on  his  visits  at 
Jerusalem.  "  Jesus  loved  Martha  and  her  sister, 
and  Lazarus."  A  man  may  "  love  his  neighbor  as 
himself  "  and  yet  recognize  personal  affinities  as 
the  basis  of  a  peculiar  intimacy. 

The  generous  spirit  of  the  man  and  the  fidelity 
of  the  friend  are  equally  illustrated  in  a  case  to 
which  Bro.  Vincil  refers  in  his  narrative.  There 
is  one  fact  connected  with  the  case  which  probably 
never  came  to  Brother  Vincil's  ears,  and  is,  I  sup- 
pose, known  to  but  few  to  this  day.  The  case  is 
mentioned  in  the  diary,  but  the  fact  to  which  I 
refer,  so  honorable  to  himself,  he  does  not  notice. 
The  statement  in  the  diary  is  as  follows  : 

"  1864,  Sept.  28.  I  am  put  in  possession  of  an 
order  making  me  responsible  for  the  telegraph 
from  this  place  to  Boonsboro  by  Gen.  C.  B.  Fisk«" 

Thus  calmly  he  states  the  fact.  He  makes  no 
comment  upon  the  malignant  despotism  of  the 
order,  nor  any  reference  to  the  great  personal 
hazard  to  which  he  might  be  exposed  in  execut- 
ing it. 

But  the  fact  to  which  I  refer  is  this  :  It  was  the 
purpose  of  the  authorities  to  designate  to  the 
charge  of  the  telegraph  line  Rev.  A.  Monroe,  a 
man  seventy  years  old,  and  at  the  time  prostrate 
from  long  and  severe  illness.  Caples,  hearing  of 
this  purpose,  went  to  intercede  for  his  aged  friend. 
He  plead  his  age  arid  honorable  character  in  vain. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  289 

He  urged  his  sickness  to  no  purpose.  "I  would 
not  be  surprised,"  said  he,  "if  he  should  be  in 
heaven  before  your  order  reaches  him."  At  last 
he  said :  "  If  nothing  will  do  but  you  must  have 
a  Southern  Methodist  preacher  for  this  service,  I 
pray  you  take  me  and  let  that  aged  and  sick  man 
be  excused."  The  General  took  him  at  his  word. 
When  did  Caples  ever  fail  a  friend  in  the  hour  of 
danger  or  of  need?  This  fact  was  communicated 
to  me  by  Brother  Monroe  himself. 

This  was  near  the  close  of  his  life.  Within  the 
next  month  he  went  to  heaven.  His  friends  will 
finl  sad  pleasure  in  reading  the  few  references  he 
made  in  his  diary  to  the  new  responsibilities  im- 
posed upon  him  by  the  military  authorities.  I 
iind  the  following : 

"  Oct.  3.  Telegraph  all  right  on  my  line." 
This  was  at  the  time  of  the  last  Confederate  in- 
vasion of  Missouri  under  Gen.  Price.  His  troops 
were  then  making  their  way  along  up  the  Mis- 
souri river.  The  excitement  was  intense.  His 
duties  on  the  line  of  telegraph  must  have  occa- 
sioned great  solicitude  on  the  part  of  his  friends 
and  himself;  But  his  entries  betray  no  weakness. 
He  never  lost  his  poise.  All  the  testimony  I  get 
is  to  the  effect  that  through  the  whole  he  bore 
himself  with  a  dignity  and  self-command  well  be- 
fitting his  character.  The  juncture  gives  great 

meaning  to  these  extracts : 
19 


290  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

"  Oct.  5.  Excitement  and  my  orders  to  attend 
to  the  telegraph  absorb  all  my  attention. 

"8.  Called  out  on  the  line  of  telegraph  and 
spent  most  of  the  day  busied  about  such  matters. 
No  stirring  news.  Made  some  preparation  for  the 
pulpit." 

Six  days  later  he  made  his  last  entry,  and  soon 
after  was  released  from  all  military  orders  by  the 
"Captain  of  our  salvation,"  who  was  Himself 
"  made  perfect  through  suffering." 

This  act  of  friendship  toward  the  "  patriarch  of 
Missouri  Methodism  "  well  became  the  last  days 
of  a  generous  son  in  the  Gospel.  To  the  very  last 
and  in  times  of  greatest  peril,  which  brought  into 
play  the  latent  selfishness  of  so  many  men,  Caples 
showed  himself  the  faithful  and  unselfish  friend. 
For  this  one  deed,  if  there  was  no  other  reason 
for  it,  his  name  would  be  a  word  of  honor  in 
Missouri. 

No  account  of  the  man  would  be  at  all  complete 
that  did  not  recall  him  as  a  companion.  Already, 
however,  I  have  said  enough  on  this  subject.  His 
wit  delighted  young  and  old,  and  in  sober  moods 
he  instructed  and  entertained  his  friends  at  once. 
There  was  at  the  same  time  a  thorough  good  sense 
and  adaptability  which  at  once  established  him 
on  a  good  footing  wherever  he  went.  On  the 
occasion  of  his  first  visit  to  the  town  of  Mexico 
he,  with  several  other  preachers,  stopped  at  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  291 

house  of  Brother  A.  Cauthorn,  which  was  a  great 
preachers'  home.  To  Brother  B.  R.  Cauthorn, 
then  a  boy,  and  now  residing  at  Mexico,  I  am 
indebted  for  the  incident.  The  preachers'  horses 
were  taken  to  the  stable  by  the  boys.  Very 
soon  Caples  appeared  in  the  stable,  laid  aside 
his  coat  and  went  to  work  on  his  horse  with 
the  curry-comb  in  good  earnest,  entering  at  the 
same  time  into  a  pleasant  chat  with  the  boys. 
They  voted  him,  on  the  spot,  the  best  man  amongst 
the  preachers,  and  he  never  lost  his  hold  upon 
their  affections.  Thus  did  the  genial  spirit  of  the 
man  assert  itself  in  all  circles  and  circumstances, 
and  over  the  hearts  of  all  classes.  No  man  had 
better  self-command.  Rev.  "W.  Holmes  writes  me 
that  when  he  was  stationed  at  Weston  he  wit- 
nessed in  him  an  instance  of  meekness  and  for- 
bearance which,  in  view  of  the  native  independence 
of  his  character,  was  quite  remarkable.  Caples 
was  Presiding  Elder  and  lived  in  Weston.  There 
had  been  a  case  of  administration  to  which  he 
stood  in  a  delicate  personal  relation,  and  in  which, 
in  spite  of  the  greatest  caution,  both  he  and  Bro. 
Holmes  had  incurred  the  displeasure  of  a  large 
and  influential  class  of  the  members  of  the  Church. 
They  were  so  bitter  that  they  would  pass  the 
preachers  without  speaking,  but  Brother  Caples 
never  failed  to  speak  to  them  politely  and  kindly. 


292  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

He  never  lost  his  balance  under  the  most  trying 
provocation. 

I  remember  an  incident  connected  with  the 
same  affair,  which  Caples  himself  told  to  me  not 
long  after  it  happened,  and  which  Rev.  B.  H. 
Spencer  has  reminded  me  of.  He  and  Holmes 
were  walking  along  the  street  together,  and  meet- 
ing some  of  the  disaffected  party  he  greeted  them  in 
an  unconstrained  manner,  one  after  another  as  he 
met  them,  in  every  case  getting  either  no  response 
or  a  very  gruff  one.  'At  last  Brother  Holmes  ex- 
postulated with  him,  saying  it  did  no  good  to 
speak  to  them  in  the  temper  they  were  in,  and 
only  gave  occasion  to  indignities  toward  himself. 
He  replied:  "  It  will  never  do  to  let  this  devil  that 
is  in  them  get  dumb,  for  '  this  kind  (that  is  dumb 
devils)  can  come  forth  by  nothing  but  by  prayer 
and  fasting''  (Mark  ix.  17-29),  and  I  have  no  time 
to  fast."  He  was  at  the  time  in  charge  of  a  large 
district,  which  was  of  itself  sufficient  labor  for  one 
man,  and  beside  this  was  involved  in  heavy 
responsibilities  with  the  High  Schools.  This  ex- 
plains the  remark  above. 

This  self-command,  this  holding  himself  free 
from  passion,  gave  him  great  influence  and 
ascendancy  over  other  men. 

A  marked  trait  of  his  character  was  buoyancy 
of  spirit.  He  never  sank  down  even  under  the 
greatest  burdens  of  responsibility  or  grief.  This 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  293 

was  not  for  want  of  sensibility.  He  felt  more 
than  most  men.  But  there  was  the  spring  in  him 
that  would  rise  under  any  load.  In  the  hands  of 
his  enemies,  in  a  loathsome  prison,  where  his 
companions  in  misfortune  were  dying  every  day, 
he  was  cheerful.  The  night  after  his  release  he 
spent  with  me.  I  never  knew  him  more  genial. 
In  the  last  year  of  his  life,  while  the  clouds  were 
thickening  around  him,  while  enemies  were  lay- 
ing snares  in  his  path,  and  he  knew  it,  though 
there  was  now  and  then  a  touch  of  sadness  upon 
him,  he  still  cheered  his  friends  by  the  light  of 
his  hopeful,  happy  spirit.  Even  the  flash  and 
corruscation  of  his  wit  still  played  among  the 
shadows,  but  especially  a  deepened  sympathy, 
made  radiant  by  a  faith  that  triumphed  more  and 
more  as  the  darkness  deepened,  poured  sunshine 
on  all  around  him.  Himself  consciously  treading 
on  the  edge  of  death,  he  yet  brought  cheer  and 
consolation  to  many  hearts.  The  joy  of  faith, 
added  to  his  native  joyousness,  held  him  erect  to 
the  very  last. 

Added  to  all  this  there  was  an  openness,  a  can- 
dor that  made  him  a  most  decided  man  You 
were  never  in  doubt  as  to  his  sentiments  or  opin- 
ions. It  would  have  been  impossible  for  him  to 
play  a  part.  He  could  be  no  schemer.  What 
he  was  he  was.  He  affected  no  unreal  iriendship. 
He  never  played  fast  and  loose.  He  took  his  atti- 


* 

294  LIFE    OF    CAPLE8. 

tude  toward  men  and  measures  promptly,  boldly. 
There  was  not  the  slightest  trace  of  the  fox  in 
him.  If  he  laid  his  hand  on  your  shoulder  and 
said,  "  old  fellow,"  you  might  rest.  He  was  your 
friend. 

He  was  an  earnest  man.  The  great  purpose  of 
his  life  was  pursued  with  sustained  energy  through 
all  temptations  and  discouragements. 

He  was  an  industrious  man.  Living  in  Weston 
several  years,  he  had,  chiefly  "by  the  labor  of  his 
own  hands,  made  a  most  delightful  home,  with 
ornamented  grounds,  and  this  amid  district  and 
educational  labors  that  would  have  fully  engrossed 
an  ordinary  man.  He  cultivated  a  large  garden, 
and  was  rarely  idle  for  a  moment. 

In  that  sad  "  last  year,"  having  removed  from 
his  home  near  Brunswick  to  Glasgow,  his  diary 
shows  the  same  industry.  The  ice-house  is  re- 
paired one  day  and  filled  the  next.  There  are 
several  trips  to  the  farm  near  Brunswick,  and 
days  spent  in  necessary  labors — stripping  tobacco, 
repairing  fences,  and  so  on.  In  the  spring  there 
is  the  inevitable  gardenings  The  diary  shows 
him  at  work. 

I  have  lingered  over  this  diary  for  hours.  To 
me  there  is  a  charm  in  it  that  is  almost  a  fascina- 
tion. There  was  evidently  no  thought  of  its  ever 
seeing  the  light  when  it  was  written.  But  his  old 
friends  at  least  will  thank  me  for  extracts  at  this 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  295 

period.  His  wife  was  very  ill,  and  these  unpre- 
meditated entries  from  day  to  day  show  him  as 
he  was — at  the  bedside  of  his  wife,  in  pastoral 
labors  and  in  the  garden.  The  scene  is  hallowed. 
The  domestic  affections  are  deep,  tender  and  pure. 
This  trait  appears  through  his  whole  life. 

"  1864,  March  29.  The  ground  covered  with 
snow.  Still  stormy  and  cold.  Wife  but  little 
better.  Attended  Bible  class. 

"  30.  Did  little  but  wait  on  Mrs.  C.  and  enter- 
tain company.  Wife  better. 

"31.  Did  but  little  except  nurse.  Wife  keeps 
much  the  same.  Did  not  attend  class  at  night. 

"  April  1.  Made  garden,  planted  beets,  parsnips, 
onions,  etc.  Mrs.  C.  still  in  bed,  but  a  little  better. 
At  prayer-meeting ;  but  few  there. 

"2.  Visited  Sister  Marr.  Went  with  Brother 
Pitts  to  the  country  for  butter,  etc. 

"3.  Attended  S.  S.  Met  the  Bible  class. 
Preached  on  John  x.  11 :  Christ  the  good  Shep- 
herd. Rained ;  no  further  service.  Mrs.  C.  better, 
but  still  in  bed. 

"  5.  Worked  some  in  the  garden.  Entertained 
Brother  Swinney.  Spent  some  time  with  Dr.  and 
Dick  Vaughn.  Met  Bible  class  at  night. 

"  6.  Visited  Sister  Thompson,  Bro.  Errickson, 
Sister  Cason,  Bro.  Perry  Errickson,  Bro.  Shackel- 
ford,  Mother  Errickson,  etc. 

"12.    Made  garden.    Mrs.  C.  much  worse. 


296  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

"  14.    Made  asparagus  bed. 

"  15.    Spaded  in  the  garden." 

I  suppose  the  diary  contains  the  names  of  all 
the  members  of  the  charge  and  speaks  of  visits 
paid  them. 

From  all  I  gather  I  think  his  Christian  life  was 
deepened  during  the  war.  The  troubles  of  that 
unhappy  time  had  a  hallowing  effect.  Rev.  C.  Bab- 
cock  writes  me  that  being  with  him  at  one  time 
during  the  last  year  of  his  life,  for  several  days, 
he  heard  him  speak  freely  of  his  experience.  He 
said  that  sometimes  he  could  scarcely  refrain  from 
shouting  aloud  the  praises  of  God. 

With  regard  to  his  general  character  his  tried 
friend,  Amos  Rees,  Esq.,  of  Leavenworth  City, 
writes :  "  I  can  say,  from  an  acquaintance  of 
twenty  years,  part  of  the  time  very  intimate,  that 
he  was  one  of  the  most  useful  men  I  have  ever 
known.  He  was  a  man  of  many,  indeed  constant, 
labors  and  much  prayer.  His  great  object  in  life 
always  seemed  to  me  to  be  to  do  good.  He  was 
a  pleasant  companion,  a  good  preacher  and  a 
warm  and  unfailing  friend." 

Rev.  B.  H.  Spencer  writes :  "  He  was  my  Pre- 
siding Elder  two  years,  and  I  never  had  one  that 
pleased  me  better.  In  social  life  he  was  exceed- 
ingly agreeable  and  entertaining.  In  Conference 
he  was  a  great  favorite  and  a  leading  man.  In 
the  pulpit  he  was  peculiar.  He  never,  I  believe, 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  297 

announced  his  plan  except  as  lie  proceeded  in  Ms 
discourse,  and  after  hearing  Mm  in  Ms  happiest 
efforts  I  have  never  been  able  to  recall  his  plan, 
because  tfte  brilliancy  of  his  style  and  the  soul 
of  his  eloquence  had  rendered  me  oblivious  to 
everything  else.  Though  I  heard  him  a  great 
many  times,  yet  I  am  unable  to  recall  the  skeleton 
of  a  single  sermon  that  I  ever  heard  him  preach." 

Mr.  J.  B.  Dameron,  of  Moberly,  says  :  "  When 
Bro.  Caples  was  on  Huntsville  circuit  he  was  well 
received  and  dearly  loved  by  the  Church,  and  ad- 
mired by  all.  He  commanded  large  congregations, 
was  listened  to  with  unusual  interest  by  those  who 
seldom  attended  the  house  of  worship,  and  is  still 
spoken  of  as  one  of  the  leading  spirits  of  our 
Church.  No  one  lays  aught  against  Bro.  Caples. 
His  untimely  death  cast  a  shade  over  all  who 
knew  him.  Bro.  Caples  was  much  at  my  house, 
was  a  Bible  student,  and  instructive  in  the  family 
circle.  The  children  all  loved  him,  and  even  the 
servants  were  glad  to  see  him,  for  he  always  had 
a  kind  word  for  them." 

In  this  connection,  as  indicating  the  personal 
character  of  Bro.  Caples  and  confirming  some 
things  already  written,  I  give  another  extract  of 
a  communication  from  Bro.  Holmes,  who  was  with 
Caples  as  Jonathan  with  David  : 

"My  first  acquaintance  with  Bro.  Caples  was 
in  the  fall  of  1841.  We  met  at  Hannibal,  on  our 


298  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

way  to  Conference  at  St.  Louis,  where  we  were 
detained  two  days  waiting  for  a  down  boat.  We 
spent  those  days  together  pleasantly,  and  he 
formed  for  me,  as  I  for  him,  a  love  and^ittachment 
that  strengthened  and  grew  in  all  the  after  years 
of  our  acquaintance.  Our  contrast  of  qualities 
seemed  to  rivet  us  more  closely — he  full  of  humor, 
I  grave  and  sedate.  We  were  in  the  same  class, 
and  were  ordained  deacons  and  elders  together. 

"  I  remember,  in  strolling  over  the  hills  of  Han- 
nibal during  the  days  mentioned,  of  his  relating 
his  struggles  to  repress  the  strong  conviction  of 
his  duty  to  preach,  ....  and  how,  at  the  end  of 
his  second  year  on  trial,  he  declined  attending 
Conference,  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  his  intention  to 
locate,  of  chopping  cord  wood,  and  his  contention 
with  poverty,  and,  as  he  then  thought,  adverse 
providence ;  of  his  struggles  with  his  convictions 
that  he  was  out  of  the  line  of  duty,  and  his  final 
determination,  with  an  increasing  family  and  the 
certain  prospect  of  a  meager  support  on  any  cir- 
cuit to  which  he  might  be  assigned,  to  re-enter  the 
itinerant  ranks  for  life." 

I  give  two  more  extracts  from  the  diary.  Hav- 
ing been  written  on  important  occasions  near  the 
close  of  his  life,  they  will  be  of  special  interest  to 
his  old  friends : 

"  1864,  July  4.  This  day  twenty-six  years  ago 
I  married.  Time  in  passing  has  carried  many 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  299 

loved  ones  away,  I  trust  to  the  better  home  above, 
and  I,  too,  am  hastening  away.  Lord  help  me  so 
to  live  that  I,  at  last,  may  die  in  peace  and  join 
the  good  above !  " 

Hastening  away!  He  was  living  daily  under 
the  wing  of  death — was  consciously  in  the  valley 
of  the  shadow.  The  times  were  evil,  and  he  knew 
that  evil  eyes  were  upon  him. 

The  following  was  written  on  his  last  birth-day. 
I  have  lingered  over  it  with  tears : 

"  April  23.  As  this  is  my  forty-fifth  birth-day 
I  have  been  reading  Southey  on  Henry  Kirk  White, 
who  died  at  twenty-one  years  of  age.  O !  my 
Father  in  heaven,  is  it  so  that  I  have  been  forty- 
five  years  on  earth  ?  I  used  to  write  to  my  mother 
on  my  birth-days,  but  years  have  passed  since. 
Oh !  what  years  have  mine  been — a  conflict  some- 
times with  poverty  bordering  on  want,  with  do- 
mestic cares  and  afflictions  burdening  and  almost 
heart-breaking — always  with  a  sense  of  ignorance 
and  want  of  qualification  for  any  great  enterprise, 
and  yet  a  longing  desire  to  be  useful,  if  not  great. 
My  father  died  when  I  needed  him  most,  when  I 
was  not  yet  sixteen.  My  mother  left  earth  to  join 
him  in  heaven  near  a  dozen  years  since,  and  I,  a 
parent,  about  whose  heart  hang  ineffaceable  im- 
ages, not  only  of  parents  gone  from  earth,  but 
dear,  dear  children,  too.  And  is  it  true  that  I  have 
reached  the  summit  of  my  strength,  and  must  my 


300  LIFE     OP     OAPLES. 

steps  hence  grow  feeble,  and  with  so  little  done  ?  I 
sigh  for  the  rest  of  the  grave,  with  no  other  claim 
upon  the  Church  or  the  world  than  the  exercise  of 
charity  in  forgetting  my  follies  and  neglects. 

"  God  hath  not  dealt  with  me  but  in  mercy,  and 
only  in  that  mercy,  through  the  Crucified,  do  I 
hope  for  the  future.  O !  my  gracious  God,  be 
compassionate  to  my  weakness,  and  let  not  my 
family  nor  thine  suffer  for  my  ignorance  or  neg- 
lects. 0 !  my  Savior,  wash  me  from  all  impurity, 
and  permit  me  to  join  my  loved  ones  in  heaven, 
and  bring,  oh !  bring,  at  last,  those  I  love  on  earth 
to  that  blessed  home.  Thine  be  the  praise. 
Amen." 

What  humility  is  here !  We  thought  he  had 
accomplished  much ;  .to  him  it  seemed  as  nothing. 
How  touching  this  sense  of  his  own  want  of  early 
opportunities.  He  felt  himself  to  be  "ignorant" 
to  the  very  last,  though  in  matters  pertaining  to 
religion  he  had  been  recognized  on  all  sides  for 
many  years  as  a  master.  Indeed,  he  had  acquired 
a  vast  amount  of  general  knowledge,  and,  on  occa- 
sion, knew  how  to  use  it.  Yet  to  himself  he 
seemed  ignorant. 

At  life's  summit  he  contemplated  the  descent 
with  sensibility.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  muscular 
power,  and  dreaded  the  "feeble  steps"  of  old 
age.  God  decreed  that  he  should  be  spared 
this  humiliation.  While  yet  at  the  summit,  in 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  301 

the  fulness  of  his  strength,  he  was  taken  to  the 
"  loved  ones  "  he  longed  so  much  to  see.  May  all 
those  for  whom  he  prayed  on  his  last  "birth-day, 
when  their  time  shall  come,  be  ready  to  join  him 
also  in  the  skies ! 

As  a  fitting  conclusion  of  this  chapter,  I  give  a 
few  communications  which  have  been  kindly  sent 
me  by  men  who  knew  Bro,  Caples  long  and  loved 
him  much.  The  first  is  from  Rev.  B.  R.  Baxter, 
formerly  of  the  Missouri,  now  of  the  Columbia 
Conference : 

"DEAR  BISHOP:  I  sit  down  to  write  you  my 
recollections  of  our  mutual  friend  and  fellow- 
laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  our  Master,  Rev.  Wm. 
Goff  Caples.  If  what  I  write  shall  not  be  of  any 
service  to  you,  it  will  serve  to  revive  in  my  own 
mind  and  heart  the  memory  of  him  whom  I 
esteemed  and  loved  more  than  any  other  man  I 
ever  knew,  my  own  father  excepted.  I  first  saw 
Brother  Caples  in  the  month  of  August,  1839,  at  a 
quarterly  meeting  held  in  a  grove  near  my  father's 
house,  in  Clay  county,  Mo.  ( The  same  place  on 
which  he  lived  when  you  traveled  Liberty  Circuit, 
1844.)  By  reference  to  the  minutes  of  the  Missouri 
Conference,  in  Dr.  M'Anally's  Life  of  Rev.  W. 
Patton,  you  will  find  we  were  embraced  in  Lex- 
ington District,  Jesse  Green,  P.  E.,  Richmond 
Circuit,  D.  T.  Sherman,  circuit  preacher.  On 
Saturday  he  presented  Bro.  Green  his  certificate 


302  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

of  membership  and  license  as  an  Exhorter,  and  on 
the  afternoon  of  that  day  he  delivered  his  first 
exhortation.  Two  things  impressed  me  under  that 
exhortation  that  marked  the  man  in  all  his  after 
life  and  labors — simplicity  and  earnestness.  The 
exhortation  made  a  favorable  impression  upon 
the  congregation,  especially  upon  the  members  of 
the  Church.  During  the  summer  of  1840,  while 
he  was  in  charge  of  Plattsburg  Circuit,  his  ap- 
pointment for  a  two-days'  meeting  in  the  town  of 
Plattsburg  came  in  collision  with  the  appointment 
o£  Duke  Young,  at  that  time  one  of  the  great  lights 
of  Campbellism  in  Northwest  Missouri.  On  Sat- 
urday Young  proposed  to  preach  first,  to  which 
Bro.  Caples  assented.  Young  occupied  something 
over  two  hours,  wearying  the  congregation  and 
virtually  depriving  Caples  of  preaching  at  all. 
He  then  proposed  that  as  Caples  was  a  young 
man,  and  would  not  want  to  occupy  much  time, 
that  lie  should  preach  first  on  Sunday  and  Young 
would  follow.  To  this  arrangement,  of  course, 
Caples  consented.  He  began  services  at  11  o'clock 
and  held  the  congregation  till  half -past  one,  mak- 
ing retaliation,  in  that  case,  a  complete  success. 

'"  In  September,  1840,  he  attended  the  first  camp- 
meeting  ever  held  at  Pleasant  Grove  camp  ground, 
Clay  county,  Richmond  District,  Rev.  W.  W.  Red- 
man, P.  E.,  Conley  Smith,  preacher  in  charge. 
Bro.  Smith  was  sick,  and  Bros.  Redman  andCaples 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  303 

did  most  of  the  preaching.  Caples  preached  with 
great  acceptability.  The  result  of  the  meeting 
was  between  forty  and  fifty  conversions  and  addi- 
tions to  the  Church.  On  Monday  night  he  preached 
from  Rev.  ii.  7,  '  Him  that  overcometh  will  I  give 
to  eat  of  the  tree  of  life  which  is  in  the  midst  of 
the  paradise  of  God,'  and  closed  with  an  earnest 
appeal  to  sinners  to  begin  the  Christian  warfare 
then.  The  altar  was  crowded  with  penitents,  and 
the  writer  well  remembers  kneeling  at  the  seat 
outside  the  altar  to  ask  the  prayers  of  the  Church. 
My  mother  and  Bro.  Caples  came  and  knelt  beside 
me  and  prayed  for  and  instructed  me  in  the  way 
of  life.  While  Bro.  C.  was  pointing  me  to  the 
'  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world,'  I  was  enabled  to  trust  in  Him  and  feel  my 
sins  forgiven.  In  that  hallowed  hour  was  laid  the 
foundation  of  that  friendship  wMch  was  never 
interrupted  to  the  close  of  his  life,  and  which  I 
hope  to  renew  beneath  'the  tree  of  life  in  the 
midst  of  the  paradise  of  God.' 

"During  the  summer  of  1841,  when  he  was 
traveling  Platte  Circuit,  his  appointment  on  Sat- 
urday, on  one  occasion,  came  in  conflict  with  the 
appointment  of  Rev.  Mr.  Kline,  of  the  Baptist 
Church.  Mr.  Kline  preached  first,  setting  forth 
pretty  clearly  the  final  perseverance  of  the  saints. 
Mr.  C.  followed,  taking  for  his  text  Heb.  xi.  14, 15 
and  16,  and  while  describing  the  heavenly  country 


304  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

a  Baptist  lady  got  happy  and  shouted.  The  congre- 
gation was  dismissed,  the  Baptist  Church  meeting 
organized  and  the  good  sister  arraigned  for  trial 
for  shouting  under  the  preaching  of  a  Methodist 
preacher.  She  left  the  house  and  went  out  into 
the  yard  where  Bro.  C.  still  was  and  said : '  Brother, 
they  have  arraigned  me  for  trial  for  shouting  under 
your  sermon,  and  I  want  to  join  the  Methodist 
Church.'  '  Very  well,  sister,  I  will  receive  you,' 
and  he  commenced  singing,  'Am  I  a  soldier  of  the 
cross,'  and  that  lady  and  one  other  from  the  Bap- 
tist Church,  and  two  others  who  had  not  been 
Church  members,  gave  him  their  names,  and  the 
Baptists  proceeded  to  expel  the  two  ex-members 
for  violation  of  Church  discipline.  These  two 
circumstances  Brother  Caples  related  to  me  fre- 
quently. 

"  My  next  association  with  Bro.  Caples  was  at 
Platte  City,  in  the  fall  of  1848.  Our  house  of 
worship  was  completed  just  before  the  session  of 
the  Missouri  Conference  at  Weston,  and  I  got 
Bro.  C.  to  spend  a  week  with  us  on  his  way  to 
Conference  and  dedicate  the  church.  His  text  for 
the  dedication  service  was  IT  Chronicles,  6th 
chapter,  40-41  verses.  It  was  a  sermon  full  of 
power  and  unction,  setting  forth  the  presence  of 
the  Lord  in  the  Church  for  the  safety  and  comfort 
of  his  people.  At  night  he  preached  from  the 
110th  Psalm.  It  was  one  of  the  happiest  efforts 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  305 

I  ever  heard  him  make.  The  priesthood  and 
dominion  of  Christ.  On  Monday  he  preached 
from  John,  14th  chapter  1st  verse :  'Ye  believe  in 
God,  believe  also  in  me.'  I  remember  one  point 
in  the  sermon  :  A  man  might  be  a  believer  in  the 
existence,  wisdom,  power  and  providence  of  God, 
and  an  infidel  in  reference  to  his  Son,  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  That  any  system  of  faith  that  did 
not  embrace  Christ  in  his  divine  character  and 
mediatorial  office,  and  salvation  through  Him  as 
the  only  and  all-sufficient  sacrifice  for  sin,  was 
essentially  defective  and  could  not  secure  the 
salvation  of  those  who  embraced  it.  At  the  Wes- 
ton  Conference,  1848,  I  was  transferred  to  the 
Indian  Mission  Conference,  and  did  not  meet  Bro. 
Caples  again  until  in  the  summer  of  1852,  when  I 
found  him  P.  E.  on  Weston  District.  I  attended 
his  quarterly  meetings  in  St.  Joseph  Station  and 
on  Savannah  Circuit.  It  was  at  the  camp-meeting 
on  Savannah  Circuit  that  I  first  heard  him  preach 
a,  missionary  sermon.  His  text  was  Isaiah,  2d 
chapter,  2d,  3d  and  4th  verses.  It  was  one  of  his 
finest  efforts,  produced  a  deep  impression  on  the 
large  congregation,  and  was  followed  by  a  hand- 
some collection  for  missionary  purposes.  This 
was  at  11  o'clock  on  Monday.  In  the  afternoon 
we  went  in  company  to  Savannah,  some  13  miles, 
and  at  night  he  preached  a  very  effective  sermon, 

in  the  N.  S.  Presbyterian  Church,  from  Heb.  xii. 
20 


306  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

18-24.  During  the  summer  of  1853  I  lived  in 
Hainsville,  Clinton  county.  Caples  was  P.  E.  on 
Weston  District.  I  attended  several  quarterly 
and  two  camp-meetings  with  him.  One  of  his 
chief  excellencies  as  P.  E.  was  his  uniform  courtesy 
toward,  and  appreciation  of,  his  brethren  in  the 
ministry,  both  traveling  and  local.  He  would  in- 
vite all  to  preach,  however  limited  their  ability  in 
the  pulpit.  He  was,  as  you  know,  the  devoted 
friend  of  missions  and  the  unflinching  advocate 
of  the  support  of  the  gospel  ministry.  I  have 
often  heard  him  argue  the  point,  that  any  man 
who  attended  regularly  upon  the  gospel  ministry 
and  did  not  contribute  to  its  support  was  '  a 
pauper  on  the  preacher. ,' 

"  In  the  summer  of  1856,  while  he  was  stationed 
in  Weston,  he  visited  me  in  Savannah  and  preached 
with  great  power  and  and  acceptability.  That  was 
his  last  visit  that  far  up  the  country.  The  last 
time  I  saw  him  was  in  Glasgow,  in  January,  18C3, 
after  he  had  been  released  from  prison  in  St.  Louis 
and  permitted  to  resume  preaching.  We  spent 
some  two  weeks  together  in  a  gracious  revival  of 
religion  in  Glasgow,  Rev.  J.  D.  Vincil  pastor.  He 
preached  with  liberty  and  power,  as  many  will 
remember.  He  preached  a  very  impressive  ser- 
mon on  the  Judgment  On  the  second  Sabbath 
of  the  meeting,  while  assisting  in  administering 
the  Lord's  Supper,  he  became  very  happy  and 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  307 

requested  Bro.  Vincil  and  the  writer  to  sing,  '  I 
would  not  live  alwaj^,'  during  which  he  shouted 
the  praise  of  God.  When  we  were  alone  he  often 
referred  to  his  past  life  as  a  man  and  a  minister; 
spoke  of  his  trials  and  triumphs  in  the  past  and 
his  hopes  in  the  future  ;  conversed  freely  in  refer- 
ence to  his  connection  with  the  Southern  army;  said 
the  motive  that  governed  him  in  so  doing  was  to 
preach  Christ  crucified  to  the  thousands  of  Missou- 
rians'  sons  who  were  going  to  the  field  of  conflict 
and  to  the  bed  of  death.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
manner  in  which  he  spoke  of  his  treatment  and 
that  of  his  fellow  prisoners  from  the  time  of  their 
capture  until  they  reached  McDowell  College,  St. 
Louis.  Propriety  forbids  its  insertion  in  his  life. 
In  the  last  conversation  we  ever  had,  at  Brother 
Thompson's,  in  Glasgow,  he  referred  to  his  life- 
long disposition  to  cheerfulness.  Said  he  :  'I  be- 
lieve I  have  lived  to  convince  even  Bro. that 

a  man  can  be  as  cheerful  as  I  am  and  yet  be  a 
Christian/  And  added,  with  emphasis,  '  I  pray 
my  Heavenly  Father  that  I  may  not  live  to  be  a 
captious,  querulous  old  man.'  Next  day  we  bade 
each  other  adieu,  little  thinking  it  was  to  be  our 
last  meeting  on  earth. 

"  He  was  a  favorite  with  myself  and  wife,  dedi- 
cated four  of  our  children  to  God  in  baptism,  and 
often  tarried  with  us  in  his  journey  ings  in  his 


308  LIFE     OF     0  A  P  L  E  8  . 

Master's  work.     We  cherish  his  memory  with 
strong  affection,  and  hope  to  join  him  in  that 

"Glorious  land  where  no  bright  dream  is  broken, 
No  flower  fhall  fade  in  beauty's  hand. 
And  no  farewell  be  spoken." 

The  following  is  from  Rev.  "W.  A.  Mayhew: 
"My  acquaintance  with  Rev.  W.  G.  Caples 
commenced  at  the  Conference  held  in  Glasgow, 
Mo.,  in  the  fall  of  1847.  That  was  the  first  Confer- 
ence I  ever  attended.  Bro.  Caples  was  the  pastor 
of  the  church,  and  upon  him  devolved  the  duty 
of  providing  homes  for  the  preachers  during  the 
session  of  the  Conference.  When  introduced  to 
him  by  Rev.  B.  R.  Baxter  he  met  me  kindly,  and 
pleasantly  remarked  that  he  failed  to  get  my 
name,  but  would  provide  me  a  good  home,  and 
immediately  sent  me  to  Bro.  Dunnica's,  at  whose 
house,  in  company  with  some  half  dozen  of  the 
members  of  the  Conference,  I  found  a  very  pleas- 
ant home,  indeed.  During  the  session  of  the  Con- 
ference I  was  much  pleased  with  his  attention  and 
affability  to  the  preachers  and  his  exhortations 
in  the  public  services  had  in  the  church.  The 
more  intimately  I  became  acquainted  and  associ- 
ated with  him  the  more  I  learned  to  value  him  as 
a  man  of  noble,  generous  impulses  and  a  Christ- 
ian of  warm,  gushing  sympathies.  Bro.  Caples 
was  a  man  of  large  benevolence.  His  hand  was 
ever  ready  to  help  the  needy  and  destitute  about 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  309 

Mm.  Many  have  "been  made  glad  by  the  timely 
assistance,  in  various  ways,  which  his  thoughtful 
and  ready  benevolence  afforded.  Numerous  in- 
stances might  be  mentioned.  It  was  no  unusual 
thing  for  him  to  send  from  his  little  place  near 
Brunswick,  Mo.,  wood  and  other  articles  of  neces- 
sity to  those  who  were  in  need.  At  his  home  he 
was  courteous  and  hospitable,  and  always  glad 
to  have  his  friends  and  acquaintances  with  him. 
He  was  a  man  of  high  social  qualities,  communi- 
cative, entertaining  and  quite  instructive,  which 
occasioned  his  presence  in  the  social  circle  to  be 
hailed  with  delight  wherever  he  went.  He  pos- 
sessed a  fund  of  rich  incident  and  anecdote,  col- 
lected during  the  years  and  from  the  extended 
field  of  his  ministerial  labor,  which  he  related 
with  so  much  facility  and  effect  that  they  charmed 
and  instructed  all  who  listened  to  them.  He  never 
seemed  more  at  home  than  when  surrounded  by 
his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and  no  one  enjoyed 
the  society  of  his  co-laborers  in  the  ministry  more 
than  he  did. 

"  On  the  Conference  floor  and  in  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  body  he  was  a  leading  spirit,  always 
deeply  interested  in  whatever  tended  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  Church  and  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our 
Zion.  In  the  deliberations  of  the  Conference  his 
influence  was  felt  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  any 


310  LIFE.    OF     CAPLES. 

one  in  the  body.  His  views  on  all  questions  which 
demanded  the  attention  of  the  Conference  were 
almost  always  correct.  He  entertained  grand  ideas 
of  the  work  of  the  Church  and  took  enlarged 
views  of  the  plans  and  means  of  her  success. 
These  he  advocated  with  strength  and  clearness. 
He  was  always  listened  to  by  the  preachers  with 
respect  and  interest,  and  the  effect  of  his  appeals 
and  arguments  could  usually  be  seen  in  the  action 
of  the  Conference  on  whatever  question  was  be- 
fore the  body.  To  all  the  great  interests  of  the 
Church  he  was  fully  alive.  To  some  of  them  he 
was  quite  in  advance  of  his  time.  He  was  deeply 
interested  in  behalf  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of 
the  ministry  who  died  in  the  regular  work  of  the 
Church,  and  labored  to  devise  plans  and  provide 
means  to  meet  the  necessary  wants  of  those  who, 
by  death,  were  left  widowed  and  fatherless  among 
us.  I  have  heard  him  say  that  a  great  burden 
would  be  removed  from  his  mind  were  somp>  plan 
devised  by  which  ample  provision  for  the  support 
of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  our  deceased  and 
constantly  dying  preachers  would  be  secured.  In 
the  cause  of  missions,  foreign  and  domestic,  he 
was  ever  greatly  interested,  and  he  was  one  of 
our  finest  and  strongest  advocates  for  the  destitute 
portions  of  our  work,  and  for  the  millions  who 
were  held,  by  false  systems,  spell  bound  in  Pagan 
idolatry  and  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  Savior  who 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  311 

redeemed  them.  On  the  subject  of  education 
among  us  he  was  one  of  our  ablest  advocates.  In 
behalf  of  this  cause  he  labored  extensively  and 
was  liberal  almost  to  a  fault,  as  his  efforts  for 
building  a  Weston  High  School  and  one  in  Platts- 
burg  will  abundantly  testify.  At  the  Conference 
of  1861,  there  being  no  one  of  our  Bishops  present, 
Bro.  Caples  was  elected  to  preside  over  the  deliber- 
ations of  the  body.  He  was  thus  placed  in  a 
situation  which  he  had  never  occupied  before,  and 
called  upon  to  discharge  the  delicate  and  responsi- 
ble duty  of  making,  with  the  assistance  of  the 
Presiding  Elders,  the  appointments  for  the  year. 
The  result  proved  him  to  be  fully  competent  for 
the  position  to  which  his  brethren,  by  their  votes, 
had  called  him.  He  presided  over  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  Conference  with  kindness  and  dignity, 
and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  preachers. 
His  charge  to  the  Deacons  elect,  delivered  before 
the  Conference,  was  very  impressive,  and  it  was 
remarked  by  several  that  they  had  scarce  ever 
heard  a  more  appropriate  one.  He  occupied  the 
highest  positions  in  the  gift  of  the  Conference, 
filling  her  best  stations  and  districts,  and  repre- 
senting his  brethren  in  the  General  Councils  of 
the  Church. 

"  In  the  pulpit  he  scarcely  had  an  equal,  and 
certainly  no  superior,  among  us.  As  a  preacher 
he  was  earnest,  his  doctrine  sound,  his  illustra- 


312  Ll^E     OF     CAPLE8. 

tions  striking,  and  his  arguments  strong  and 
forcible.  On  the  platform  and  in  the  pulpit  he 
seemed  ever  ready,  and  it  was  there  his  powers  of 
intellect  were  more  fully  called  forth  and  appeared 
to  greatest  advantage.  In  the  delivery  of  his 
sermons  he  used  no  manuscript  and  but  seldom  a 
brief  note. 

"  He  has,  I  believe,  left  but  little  written  account 
of  his  travels  and  labors.  The  absence  of  such 
manuscript  papers  is  a  felt  difficulty  in  writing  the 
life  of  one  who  tilled  so  large  a  place  among  us,  and 
who  was  for  so  long  a  time  identified  with  the  de- 
velopment and  movements  of  Methodism  in  North- 
ern Missouri.  While  his  discourses  were  almost 
always  able,  there  were  times  when  he  seemed 
to  rise  entirely  above  himself  and  all  cramping 
circumstances,  and  then  his  pulpit  efforts  assumed 
a  majesty  and  his  eloquence  and  pathos  became 
overpowering.  He  drew  crowds  wherever  he  went, 
and  many  flocked  to  hear  him  who  were  not  in  the 
habit  of  attending  the  house  and  worship  of  God. 
It  was  thought  by  many  that  he  preached  with 
greater  power  and  effect  at  his  quarterly  meetings 
in  the  country  than  he  did  in  the  large  towns.  At 
one  of  his  quarterly  meetings  in  the  country  sev- 
eral brethren  from  an  adjacent  Station  heard  him 
deliver  a  powerful  discourse,  and  ventured  to  ask 
him  why  he  did  not  favor  them  with  such  sermons 
in  their  town.  With  a  pleasant  smile  and  a  mis- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  313 

chievous  twinkle  of  the  eye,  he  simply  replied : 
'  Ah !  you  town  people  have  been  fed  so  long  on 
nubbins  that  you  would  not  know  what  to  do  with 
a  full  ear.' 

"  As  a  Presiding  Elder  he  was  diligent  in  the 
management  and  work  of  his  District.  Under 
his  labors  the  Church  was  edified  and  prospered. 
Especially  was  this  the  case  in  the  Weston  Dis- 
trict, which  he  traveled  for  four  years.  His  inter- 
course with  the  preachers  in  his  District  was 
always  kind  and  pleasant,  which  made  his  quar- 
terly visits  to  their  charges  be  looked  forward 
to  with  a  great  deal  of  interest,  anticipating  as 
they  did  a  rich  feast  of  Gospel  instruction,  social 
intercourse  and  friendship.  While  he  was  not 
regarded  a  painstaking  pastor,  still  he  did  not 
altogether  neglect  this  field  of  ministerial  labor 
and  usefulness.  As  a  pastor  he  was  kind  and 
sympathetic,  and  always  had  a  word  of  counsel 
for  the  erring,  of  sympathy  for  the  distressed,  of 
hope  for  the  desponding,  and  of  consolation  for 
the  afflicted  and  bereaved.  His  numerous  friends 
who  knew  him  best,  and  knew  the  value  of  his 
counsels  and  sympathies,  regretted  that  his  do- 
mestic duties  and  ministerial  labors  prevented 
him  from  being  with  them  more  frequently,  both 
pastorally  and  socially.  He  had  a  large  and 
growing  family  which  demanded  his  attention, 
and  for  whose  support  he  had  to  labor  no  little  on 


314  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

his  small  place.  This,  of  course,  operated  to  hin- 
der him  in  his  pastoral  work.  The  people  loved 
him  and  were  anxious  to  have  him  much  with 
them  at  their  homes.  The  name  of  Caples  through 
the  Platte  and  Grand  river  country,  and  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  Missouri,  almost  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  North  Missouri,  has 
become  a  household  word,  and  the  influence  of 
his  character  and  ministerial  labors  is  still  felt, 
and  will  be  for  long  years  to  come.  I  think  I  may 
say,  without  disparagement  to  others,  that  Rev. 
W.  G.  Caples  possessed  more  influence  and  was 
more  popular  with  preachers  and  people  than  any 
one  among  us.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  hear, 
throughout  the  Fayette  District,  his  labors  referred 
to  with  emotions  of  pleasure  and  interest.  His 
presence  among  us  was  always  a  pleasure,  and 
his  absence  is  greatly  missed.  His  remains  lie 
buried  in  the  cemetery  in  Brunswick,  Mo.  It  was 
my  sad  duty,  in  company  with  Revs.  A.  Monroe 
and  J.  D.  Vincil,  to  assist'  in  performing  the  last 
sad  rites  at  his  burial." 

From  the  Rev.  C.  I.  Vandeventer  I  have  received 
the  following : 

"  Rev.  William  G.  Caples  was  a  comparatively 
young  but  growing  and  honored  member  of  the 
Misssouri  Conference  at  the  time  of  my  admission 
into  the  same  on  trial  in  the  fall  of  1844.  At 
about  this  time  our  acquaintance  commenced,  but 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  315 

our  spheres  of  operation  being  necessarily  different 
and  our  fields  of  labor  not  contiguous,  this  did 
not  amount  to  much  more  than  a  Conference 
acquaintance,  until,  in  Sept.,  1852, 1  was-appointed 
to  the  St.  Joseph  Station,  with  Bro.  Caples  for  my 
Presiding  Elder,  which  relation  he  sustained  to 
me  the  three  following  years.  During  this  period, 
and  up  to  the  time  of  his  lamented  death,  an 
intimate,  ardent  and  Christian  friendship  was 
mutually  cherished  and  cultivated  by  us — a  friend- 
ship unbroken  and  unimpaired  by  the  lapse  of 
time — which  still  lives,  and  which,  I  trust,  will  be 
strengthened  and  matured  in  the  home  of  the 
Redeemed.  I  announce  but  the  verdict  of  the 
masses  in  this  Platte  country  and  of  the  sections 
of  the  State  generally  which  shared  in  his  minis- 
terial labors,  of  the  people  in  the  Church  and  out 
of  the  Church,  of  friends  and  enemies  (if  he  had 
any)  that  William  G.  Caples  was,  in  the  true  im- 
port of  the  word,  a  great  man,  a  man  of  vast 
mental  capacity,  and,  what  is  an  immeasurably 
more  valuable  record  of  him,  that  he  was  the  very 
impersonation  of  magnanimity  and  Christian  ben- 
evolence. He  was  a  charming  preaclier,  who 
would  not  only  interest  and  please  with  his  pecu- 
liarly attractive  manner,  but  often  under  his  min- 
istration of  .the  Word  the  fountain  of  the  heart 
would  be  opened,  the  tempted  child  of  Grod  would 


316  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

be  comforted  and  edified  and  the  careless  sinner 
awakened  and  converted. 

"  Brother  Caples  was  a  model  Presiding  Elder. 
There  were  no  complaints  about  that  office  when 
he  filled  it.  If  there  were  any  I  do  not  remember 
having  heard  of  them.  The  quarterly  meetings 
were  occasions  of  general  interest  and  of  much 
profit.  His  profound  and  touching  proclamations 
of  Gospel  truth  held  the  listening  multitudes  at 
times  almost  spell-bound,  especially,  as  thousands 
will  remember,  when,  in  his  happiest  moods,  he 
discoursed  upon  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  of  the  Resurrection  of  the 
Dead,  of  the  General  Judgment,  and  of  kindred 
themes. 

"He  was  emphatically  a  Methodist  preacher. 
Of  original  thought  and  speculative  turn  of  mind, 
he  was  sound  to  the  core  in  the  doctrine  and 
essential  polity  of  the  Church  as  received  from  our 
fathers.  Yet  so  broad  was  his  Christian  charity, 
so  free  was  his  spirit  from  bigotry  and  offensive 
sectarianism  that  he  was  a  favorite  of  all  denomi- 
nations, and  was  spoken  of  with  kindness  and 
respect  by  those  with  whom  it  became,  as  he 
thought,  necessary  to  '  contend  earnestly  for  the 
faith?  During  the  period  referred  to  Bro.  Caples 
manifested  a  zeal  worthy  of  the  faithful  minister 
of  Christ,  and  a  degree  of  enterprise  in  behalf  of 
the  interests  of  education  and  religion  which  was 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  317 

in  advance  of  the  times.  He  had  inaugurated  the 
District  Conference  and  held  two  Annual  District 
camp-meetings,  one  of  which,  at  least,  was  a  time 
of  great  spiritual  power.  A  considerable  number 
of  churches  was  erected  within  the  bounds  of  his 
District  and  several  High  Schools  established 
through  his  agency.  The  last  year  that  he  was 
on  the  District  I  was  stationed  in  Weston,  where 
he  also  resided.  Here,  in  connection  with  Rev. 
Robert  G-.  Loving,  then  in  charge  of  the  Weston 
High  School,  it  was  my  privilege  more  frequently 
to  meet  Bro.  Caples,  and  often  at  his  own  house. 
Here  we  and  our  families,  amid  uncommon  trials, 
took  sweet  counsel  together  and  walked  unto  the 
house  of  God  in  company.  In  the  summer  of  this 
year  I  was  extremely  ill,  and  was  favored  not  only 
with  the  visits  and  prayerful  sympathy  of  my 
dear  brother,  but  believe  that,  during  the  unavoid- 
able absence  of  my  physician,  his  knowledge  of 
my  condition  and  prompt  and  appropriate  sugges- 
tions were,  with  the  blessing  of  Providence,  instru- 
mental in  my  recovery. 

"  Bro.  Caples  was  truly,  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  life — domestic,  social  and  religious — a 
loving  and  lovely  man  and  useful  minister  —  'a 
bright  and  shining  light '  While  constitutionally 
cheerful,  and  sometimes  manifesting  almost  an 
excess  of  vivacity,  you  had  but  to  know  him  well 
to  be  convinced  that  this  was  but  the  outgusJiing 


318  LIFE     OP     OAPLE8. 

of  an  innocent  and  happy  heart,  and  of  one  that 
would,  if  possible,  even  under  the  most  gloomy 
surroundings,  render  all  about  him  happy.  The 
whole  tenor  of  his  life  made  this  impression  upon 
my  mind  (without  claiming  that  for  him  to  which 
none  are  entitled — entire  exemption  from  error  in 
judgment  or  in  practice),  that,  in  his  relations  to 
God  and  to  his  brethren,  it  was  his  invariable  aim 
to  do  rigid. 

"  He  was  pre-eminently  a  laborer  in  his  Master's 
vineyard,  a  workman  that  needed  not  to  be 
ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth.  If 
such  language  will  not  be  misconstrued,  I  would 
say  he  possessed  a  proper  denominational  amLi- 
tion  ;  he  desired  that  the  Church  of  his  love  and 
of  his  choice,  which  he  regarded  as  but  the  expo- 
nent of  '  Christianity  in  earnest,'  should  be  in  the 
front  of  the  great  battle  with  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness and  first  in  every  good  work,  and  it  was 
his  chief  delight  to  lead  the  Lord's  militant  hosts 
in  this  holy  warfare.  He  told  me,  on  one  occasion, 
that  he  dreaded  more  than  anything  else  the 
prospect  of  becoming  old  and  superannuated,  of 
living  to  be  in  the  way  and  of  no  benefit  to  man- 
kind, and  that  it  had  been  a  frequent  prayer  with 
him  that  before  that  time  should  come  the  good 
Lord  might  take  him  out  of  the  world.  O,  may 
we  meet  him  in  heaven." 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  319 

The  last  communication  which  I  will  give  in 
this  connection  is  from  Rev.  J.  C.  Parks : 

"I  first  became  acquainted  with  Brother  Caples 
in  the  fall  of  1859.  He  was  then  stationed  at 
Brunswick,  on  the  Missouri  river,  and  there,  for 
the  first  time,  I  heard  him  preach ;  there,  for  one 
year,  I  listened  with  much  interest  to  his  efforts 
as  a  Gospel  minister. 

"  I  was  a  stranger  at  that  time  among  the  people 
to  whom  he  ministered,  and  shall  ever  feel  grate- 
ful for  the  interest  he  manifested  for  my  welfare 
and  success.  While  he  was  preaching  to  that 
people  I  was  trying  to  educate  their  children,  and 
it  is  but  just  to  attribute  to  him  much  of  the  in- 
fluence that  gave  me  success. 

"  Bro.  Caples  was  a  man  easy  of  approach,  and 
could  make  a  stranger  feel  familiar  with  him  at 
once.  If  ever  I  knew  a  man  who  conscientiously 
regarded  the  rights  of  others,  he  was  that  man.  I 
had  frequent  opportunity  of  testing  that  quality 
of  his  heart.  He  was  a  true  friend,  a  faithful, 
thoughtful,  judicious  adviser.  Knowing  the  diffi- 
culties that  surrounded  me  in  managing  the  edu- 
cational interests  of  that  people,  he  was  my  refuge 
and  defense,  and  by  the  position  assumed  with 
his  own  children  while  attending  school,  exerted 
an  influence  over  the  whole  community  which 
made  the  government  of  the  school-room  compara- 
tively an  easy  task. 


320  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

"  With  children  Brother  Caples  was  never  very 
familiar,  yet  I  never  saw  him  in  any  family  circle 
where  the  children  did  not  seem  to  be  interested 
by  his  anecdotes  and  listen  attentively  to  all  he 
had  to  say,  and  somehow  or  other  advice  from 
Brother  Caples  was  always  regarded  by  them  as 
sacred. 

"  It  was  my  privilege  often  to  visit  him  at  his 
own  house,  and  there,  if  anywhere,  he  might  be 
regarded  as  a  teaze  ( I  don't  like  the  word ).  The 
remarks  he  frequently  made  would,  if  made  by 
many  a  parent,  have  encouraged  a  spirit  of  resent- 
ment and  disobedience ;  but  in  his  family  while 
his  words  would  seem  to  plague,  they  would  at 
the  same  time  amuse.  His  children  always  seemed 
to  venerate  the  opinion  of  their  father,  and  always 
spoke  of  him  with  the  greatest  conhdence  and 
regard. 

"  D  uring  the  year  he  was  stationed  at  Brunswick 
I  attended  two  protracted  meetings  held  by  him, 
at  one  of  which  three  of  his  family  were  converted 
and  joined  the  Church.  Two  of  that  family— 
his  son  William,  and  Alonzo  Bailey,  his  wife's 
son — are  now  ministers  of  Christ,  .each  holding 
an  itinerant  relation  in  the  Missouri  Conference. 
During  the  presence  of  his  children  at  the  altar  of 
prayer  his  mind  seemed  much  agitated,  and  upon 
the  conversion  of  his  son  William  so  deeply  was 
his  mind  impressed  with  the  thought  that  William 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  321 

would  be  called  of  God  to  preach  that  he  men- 
tioned the  fact  to  me  while  standing  in  the  altar 
and  frequently  afterward.  One  would  suppose 
that  a  man  of  so  much  ease  in  approaching  others 
upon  the  subject  of  religion  could  easily  approach 
his  own  children,  but  it  was  not  so.  He  was  timid 
in  saying  anything  upon  the  subject.  He  remarked 
to  me  that,  for  some  caiise  unknown  to  himself,  it 
was  the  hardest  cross  he  had  to  take  up. 

"  jSTearly  two  years  ago  I  met  his  son  William 
at  the  Gallatin  District  Conference  and  learned 
from  him  that  his  father  had  tried  to  ascertain 
from  him  if  he  did  not  feel  it  his  duty  to  preach. 
If  I  remember  rightly  his  son  never  gave  him  any 
positive  assurance  of  his  intention  to  do  so,  and, 
for  aught  I  know,  he  died  without  knowing  the 
impressions  of  William's  heart  in  reference  to  his 
call  to  the  ministry. 

"  As  a  minister  Bro.  Caples  was  expository  and 
argumentative  rather  than  topical  in  his  method 
of  presenting  truth.  His  style  was  earnest,  and 
sometimes  truly  eloquent.  He  aimed,  and  suc- 
ceeded, too,  in  convincing  the  judgment  as  well  as 
assailing  the  heart.  Self-possessed,  he  seldom 
failed  to  place  his  audience  at  ease  and  in  the  best 
condition  to  listen  to  the  truths  he  uttered,  and 
win  at  once  their  admiration  and  confidence. 

"It  so  happened  that  in  all  the  efforts  I  ever 

heard  him  make  he  never  made  what  is  called  a 
21 


322  LIFE     OP     CAPLE8. 

failure.  His  talents  seemed  to  be  of  a  command- 
ing order  every  where,  with  all  classes.  A  student 
he  was,  but  not  of  books.  Plodding  after  the 
thoughts  of  other  men  he  regarded  as  the  veriest 
drudgery.  He  seldom,  if  ever,  read  an  author 
through  with  close  attention.  He  aimed  to  get 
their  positions,  and  then,  rather  than  confine  him- 
self to  the  drudgery  of  reading  and  studying 
their  style  and  mode  of  reasoning,  chose  to  do  the 
thinking  himself  and  form  the  argument  after  his 
own  style. 

"  If  there  is  anything  to  be  regretted,  it  is  that 
he  did  not  avail  himself  of  the  helps  at  hand  fur- 
nished by  others.  He  studied  nature,  men  and 
principles,  in  all  of  which  he  would  have  become 
more  proficient  and  would  have  saved  much  time 
by  using  the  material  furnished  to  his  hand  by 
others,  especially  upon  scientific  subjects. 

"  I  once  inquired  of  him  what  he  thought  of 
the  probability  of  any  one  giving  us  a  true  inter- 
pretation of  the  prophecies.  He  replied  that 
God's  government  of  the  material  world  and  His 
providential  dealings  with  nations  and  men  were 
Jehovah's  commentary  upon  the  prophesies,  and 
until  the  commentary  was  written  we  should  not 
be  able  to  prophesy  correctly 

"  I  presume  you  have  his  views  upon  the  subject 
of  the  tithes,  as  he  once  prepared  and  pronounced 
a  lecture  upon  that  subject  in  St.  Louis  The 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  323 

lecture  did  not  do  Mm  justice  upon  that  subject, 
and  the  reason  is  to  "be  attributed  to  the  fact  that 
he  seldom  wrote  anything  in  the  form  of  a  lecture 
or  a  sermon.  He  gave  that  subject  a  great  deal 
of  attention.  His  conversations  upon  it  were  of 
the  most  interesting  character,  and  the  inferences 
he  drew  from  the  facts  collected  upon  the  subject 
were  such  as  to  produce  the  finest  moral  effects 
upon  the  efficiency  of  the  Church  in  the  evangel- 
ization of  the  world,  could  the  system  be  again 
restored  to  the  Church.  I  hope  we  may  have  his 
views  in  his  forthcoming  life. 

''In  1861,  upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war, 
Brother  Caples  became  a  partisan  to  that  ever- 
memorable  conflict — not  willingly,  as  he  said,  but 
of  necessity.  I  shall  never  forget  the  night  we 
sat  upon  a  log,  in  the  suburbs  of  Brunswick,  until 
after  one  o'clock,  talking  of  the  then-commenced 
conflict,  consulting  as  to  what  we  ought  to  do. 
He  seemed  to  survey  the  whole  struggle,  and 
looked  upon  the  then  existing  Government  as  at 
an  end.  He  believed  the  States  ought  to  separate, 
as  constitutional  liberty  would  only  be  preserved 
by  the  Southern  States  organized  into  a  confed- 
eracy. With  this  conviction  fully  fixe.d  in  his 
mind  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  identify  himself  with 
the  Southern  cause,  be  his  personal  fate  what  it 
might.  No  one  was  more  attached  to  the  spirit 
of  the  Constitution  than  was  he.  He  was  among 


324  LIFE    OF    CAPLE8. 

the  few  that  then  seemed  to  have  a  clear  and  just 
view  of  the  rights  of  the  States  (or  States-Rights 
doctrine).  He  advocated  them  earnestly,  and  fully 
believed  in  the  ability  of  the  Southern  States  to 
effect  their  secession  and  maintain  their  indepen- 
dence. All  his  hopes  for  a  truly  republican  form 
of  government  rested  right  there,  and  for  that 
purpose  he  was  willing,  if  need  be,  to  sacrifice  his 
life.  I  called  his  attention  that  night  to  the  un- 
equal conflict,  provided  the  North  were  united. 
He  replied  (in  substance),  a  bad  cause  left  men 
without  courage,  and  that  the  North  would  not 
stand  before  the  determined  bravery  of  the  South- 
ern soldiers.  On  this  point,  perhaps,  few  men 
with  the  same  amount  of  intellect  were  more  mis- 
taken. For  a  long  time  he  believed  in  the  final 
triumph  of  the  South,  and  in  fact,  so  far  as  I  know, 
he  was  possessed  of  that  feeling  until  he  fell  a 
victim  to  the  destroying  element  of  war,  at  the 
city  of  Glasgow,  where  the  saddest  hour  of  his 
history  meets  us. 

"  He  became  identified  with  the  army  at  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  and  on  the  first  Sabbath  after 
the  surrender  of  that  place,  in  Col.  Price's  regi- 
ment, he  preached  his  first  sermon.  He  addressed 
the  soldiers  earnestly  upon  the  necessity  of  im- 
mediate and  constant  preparation  for  death.  He 
found  it  difficult  for  awhile  to  adjust  himself  to 
his  new  position,  as  army  life  was  in  strange 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  325 

contrast  with  the  sumptuous  "boards  at  which  he 
was  accustomed  to  feast  as  the  Church's  favorite 
minister ;  but  he  soon  became  accustomed  to  all 
the  inconveniences  of  army  life,  and  his  jovial 
disposition  soon  made  him  a  favorite  with  the 
soldiers. 

"  Upon  Gen.  Price's  retreat  from  Lexington  he 
was  made  chaplain  at  headquarters,  after  which  I 
saw  him  only  occasionally.  He  was  commissioned 
by  Gen.  Price  as  a  recruiting  officer  and  returned 
home.  After  raising  a  regiment,  in  connection 
with  others,  he  again  started  to  the  army  and 
was  captured  at  Blackwater  and  sent  to  Gratiot 
street  prison. 

"Prison  life  was  intolerable  to  Bro.  Caples,  and 
he  made  every  honorable  effort  to  be  paroled,  but 
the  authorities  regarded  him  as  a  man  of  too 
much  influence  to  grant  him  his  request.  Accus- 
tomed as  he  had  always  been  to  the  largest 
liberty,  confinement  in  a  prison  was  anything  but 
pleasant.  He  obtained  permission  to  preach  to 
the  soldiers,  which  seemed  to  be  the  only  green 
spot  in  his  prison  life. 

"At  the  time  the  Blackwater  prisoners  were 
sent  to  Alton,  through  a  friend  he  obtained  a 
parole  to  return  to  his  family,  after  which  lie  gave 
himself  to  his  former  work,  preaching  Christ  to 
the  people,  and  returned  no  more  to  the  army. 

"I  may  say  of  Bro.  Caples  that,  fair  reasoner 


326  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

as  he  was,  his  arguments  were  never  a  parallel  to 
his  perceptions  of  truth.  No  man  that  it  was 
ever  my  good  fortune  to  associate  with  possessed 
greater  ability  to  perceive  the  force  of  truth  than 
did  he,  and  but  few  men  could  urge  the  conse- 
quences of  erroneous  views  with  greater  strength. 
Had  he  studied  authors  and  formulas  of  argument 
more  he  would  have  made  one  of  the  most  con- 
vincing reasoners  in  the  Church.  He  surely  pos- 
sessed the  native  genius  and  talent  to  do  so." 

The  sum  of  the  matter  is,  that  William  Goff 
Caples  was  a  man  of  rare  force  of  character,  intel- 
lectual power  and  purity  of  heart;  that  he  was 
supreme  in  the  pulpit  of  Missouri,  enjoying  im- 
mense personal  popularity  and  wielding  his  great 
influence  in  favor  of  God  and  the  Church.  He 
had  as  few  faults  as  most  men,  and  they  were 
such  as  "  leaned  to  virtue's  side." 

He  was  my  friend.  I  record  it  with  gratitude. 
The  writing  of  his  life  is  a  labor  of  love.  His 
name  ought  to  survive  the  present  generation  of 
Methodists  in  Missouri.  I  desire  to  be  his  voice, 
now  that  he  is  dead,  in  order  that  he  may  "  still 
speak."  The  utterance  is  inadequate,  but  it  is 
given  in  prayer.  May  the  Spirit  of  God,  through 
this  memoir,  edify  the  Church  and  bring  sinners 
to  repentance. 

Since  this  chapter  was  prepared  I  have  received 
the  following  from  Bro.  Baxter.  It  will  be  read 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  327 

by  those  who  believe  in  a  prayer-hearing  God 
with  much  interest : 

"  INDEPENDENCE,  POLK  Co.,  OREGON.,  ) 
"January  13,  1870.      \ 

"  DEAR  BISHOP  :  I  fear  you  will  think  me  intru- 
sive, but  the  associations  of  to-day  called  up  an 
1  incident '  in  the  life  of  Caples  that  I  had  forgot- 
ten, but  while  attending  the  funeral  service  of 
Col.  Ford,  of  Dixie,  to-day,  it  came  fresh  to  my 
memory.  It  is  illustrative  of  his  faith  in  God 
and  his  belief  in  direct  answer  to  prayer. 

"  You  are,  doubtless,  aware  that  while  stationed 
at  Brunswick  (I  do  not  remember  which  year) 
he  was  given  up  to  die  of  cholera.  He  often  told 
me  that  his  consciousness  never  forsook  him,  and 
that  he  never  thought  he  would  die  at  that  time. 
He  said  he  did  not  attribute  his  recovery  on  that 
occasion  so  much  to  the  remedies  used  by  his 
physicians  as  to  the  prayers  offered  in  his  behalf. 
He  said  he  believed  the  Lord  raised  him  up  from 
the  very  gates  of  death  in  direct  answer  to  the 
prayers  of  Rev.  R.  G.  Loving,  who  wrestled  all 
night  in  prayer  in  his  behalf.  I  have  never  known 
a  man  who  had  a  more  unwavering  faith  in  the 
providence  of  God  over  those  who  put  their  trust 
in  Him." 


328  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


FACE  TO  FACE  WITH  DEATH. 

Mere  courage  in  the  presence  of  death  is  not  a 
test  of  moral  or  religious  character.  The  worst  men 
sometimes  meet  their  fate  bravely.  Abandoned 
and  unrepentant  criminals  have  been  known  to 
go  to  the  gallows  cheerfully.  Such  instances  are, 
no  doubt,  cases  of  mere  bravado.  Others  are  the 
result  of  stolid  insensibility.  Some  men  maintain 
their  poise  by  force  of  will.  Death  is  sometimes 
met  with  resignation,  probably,from  inexpressible 
weariness  of  life.  The  unhappy  spirit,  beat  about 
by  waves  and  currents  until  the  failing  hand  lets 
go  the  helm,  drifts  with  desperate  calmness  in  the 
dark,  ready  to  cast  anchor  in  any  harbor  or  drive 
upon  any  reef,  as  chance  may  shape  the  event. 
To  it  any  future  is  welcome  as  a  refuge  from  the 
insufferable  past  and  present. 

Every  healthy  mind,  however,  looks  upon  death 
with  a  feeling  of  solemnity ;  and  when  the  assured 
hopes  of  religion  are  absent  this  solemnity,  when 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  329 

death  is  imminent,  is,  in  men  of  strong  will,  an 
oppressive  dread.  In  weak  men  it  grows  into 
terror.  If  a  man  is  not  desperate,  nor  under  the 
curse  of  insensibility,  nor  sustained  by  a  proud 
effort  of  will,  he  will  tremble  in'  the  presence  of 
the  "last  enemy,"  unless  there  is  a  deep-felt 
assurance  of  pardon  and  preparation  to  meet  God. 

It  seems  to  be  an  ambition  in  some  men  to  die 
in  character.  They  have  been  playing  a  part  in 
life ;  they  must  sustain  it  in  death.  There  has 
been  going  the  rounds  of  the  papers  an  extract 
from  Curtis'  "  Life  of  Daniel  Webster,"  giving 
his  "last  words  on  religion."  There  are  many 
well  considered  and  noble  utterances  in  it.  There 
is  a  candid  admission  of  the  fear  of  death.  "  No 
man,  who  is  not  a  brute,  can  say  that  he  is  not 
afraid  of  death."  He  turned,  also,  in  his  helpless 
fear,  and  looked  upon  Christ.  But,  plainly,  there 
was  no  joyful  trust.  The  cross  was  heavily  shad- 
owed, yet  he  felt  that  it  was  the  only  ground  of 
hope.  Perhaps  we  may  say  he  rather  saw  than 
felt  it.  He  saw  it.  He  confessed  it  in  solemn 
and  fitting  words. 

But  suddenly  he  expressed  the  apprehension 
that  some  unworthy  weakness  had  been  betrayed 
in  what  he  had  said.  Face  to  face  with  death  as 
he  was,  still  he  must  maintain  his  dignity.  He 
must  die  great.  He  must  act  in  keeping — not  with 
his  character  as  a  sinner  before  God,  but  with  his 


330  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

distinguished  reputation  as  a  man.     The  follow- 
ing is  the  extract : 

" '  My  general  wish  on  earth  .has  been  to  do  my 
Makers  will.  I  thank  Him  now  for  all  the  mercies 
that  surround  me;  I  thank  Him  for  the  means  he 
has  given  me  of  doing  some  little  good ;  for  my 
children  —  those  beloved  objects  —  for  my  nature 
and  associations.  I  thank  Him  that  I  am  to  die, 
if  I  am,  under  so  many  circumstances  of  love  and 
affection.  I  thank  Him  for  all  His  cares.  No 
man  who  is  not  a  brute  can  say  that  he  is  not 
afraid  of  death.  No  man  can  come  back  from  that 
bourne ;  no  man  can  comprehend  the  will  or  the 
works  of  God.  That  there  is  a  God,  all  must 
acknowledge.  I  see  Him  in  all  these  wondrous 
works ;  Himself  how  wondrous !  The  great  mys- 
tery is  Jesus  Christ  —  the  Gospel.  What  would 
be  the  condition  of  any  of  us  if  we  had  not  the 
hope  of  immortality?  What  ground  is  there  to 
rest  upon  but  the  Gospel?  There  were  hopes 
of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  running  down, 
especially  among  the  Jews.  The  Jews  believed 
in  a  spiritual  origin  of  creation.  The  Romans 
never  reached  it ;  the  Greeks  never  reached  it.  It 
is  a  tradition  if  that  communication  was  made  to 
the  Jews,  by  God  Himself,  through  Moses  and  the 
fathers.  But  there  is,  even  to  the  Jews,  no  direct 
assurance  of  immortality  in  heaven.  There  is 
now  and  then  a  scattered  intimation,  as  in  Job, 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  331 

"  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth ; "  but  a  proper 
consideration  of  that  does  not  refer  it  to  Jesus 
Christ  at  all.  But  there  were  intimations  —  cres- 
puscular — twilight.  But,  but,  but,  thank  God,  the 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  has  brought  life  and  im- 
mortality to  light — rescued  it — brought  it  to  light. 
There  is  an  admirable  discourse  on  that  subject 
by  Dr.  Barrow,  preacher  to  the  Inner  Temple.  I 
think  it  is  his  sixth  sermon.  Well,  I  don't  feel 
as  if  I  am  to  fall  off.  I  may.' 

"  He  paused  a  short  time ;  a  drowsiness  appeared 
to  come  over  him,  and  his  eyes  were  closed.  In  a 
moment  or  two  he  opened  them,  and,  looking 
eagerly  around,  he  asked:  'Have  I  —  wife,  son, 
doctor,  friends,  are  you  all  here  ? — have  I  on  this 
occasion  said  anything  unworthy  of  Daniel  Web- 
ster ? '  '  No,  no,  dear  sir ! '  was  the  response  from 
all.  He  then  began  the  words  of  the  Lord's 

CJ 

Prayer ;  but  after  the  first  sentence,  feeling  faint, 
he  cried  out  earnestly,  '  hold  me  up ;  I  do  not  wish 
to  pray  with  a  fainting  voice.'  He  was  instantly 
raised  a  little  by  a  movement  of  the  pillows,  and 
then  repeated  the  whole  of  the  prayer  in  clear  and 
distinct  tones,  ending  his  devotions  with  these 
words : 

" '  And  now  unto  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost  be  praise  forever  and  forever !  Peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  to  men — that  is  the  happiness, 
the  essence — good  will  toward  men.''  " 


332  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

"  Unworthy  of  Daniel  Webster ! "  Attitudiniz- 
ing before  the  world  in  the  very  act  of  going  to  the 
bar  of  God !  "  How  can  ye  believe  which  receive 
honor  one  from  another,  and  seek  not  that  honor 
that  cometh  from  God  only  ? " 

"  Except  ye  become  as  little  children  ye  shall 
in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 
This  consciousness  of  observation,  and  the  affecta- 
tions that  come  of  it,  are  fatal  to  faith  and  piety. 
The  man  is  adjusting  himself  to  the  world,  to  its 
criticisms,  to  its  standard,  and  not  to  God.  The 
eye  is  not  single.  The  motive  is  not  pure.  There 
is  not  perfect  candor  with  God. 

Is  it  not  a  melancholy  spectacle — this  great 
spirit,  occupied  with  its  relations  to  God,  occupied 
with  the  name  of  Christ,  suddenly  becoming 
startled  with  the  apprehension  that  he  had  said 
something  that  might  be  open  to  criticism !  As  if 
it  were  anything  to  liim  what  should  be  said  of 
his  dying  words.  As  if  the  only  thing  worthy  of 
the  human  soul  were  not  found  in  God. 

No  wonder  that  the  shadow  was  never  lifted. 
His  intellect  turned  to  Christ,  but  his  heart  clung 
to  the  world.  He  must  play  out  this  last  hour  in 
the  puppet-show  of  life  becomingly.  Caesar  must 
gather  his  robes  about  him  and  fall  with  dignity. 
Even  the  thought  of  God,  and  sin,  and  Christ,  in 
his  mind  could  not  attract  attention  from  that. 

Any  just  idea  of  dignity  and  greatness,  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  333 

greatness  of  the  soul,  would  have  induced,  at  such 
an  hour,  the  utmost  indifference  to  the  attitude  in 
which  he  might  appear  before  men.  To  an  eye 
that  could  see,  God  would  have  filled  the  whole 
field  of  vision.  The  only  thing  that  is  becoming 
is  to  act  in  keeping  with  the  high  nature  of  man 
as  he  is  related  to  the  government  of  God.  This 
statement  has  augmented  meaning  in  the  dying 
hour.  The  pride  of  the  statesman,  betrayed  at 
such  an  hour,  turns  the  last  act  of  the  drama  into 
a  mere  farce,  which  can  not  be  redeemed  by  a  few 
stately  commonplaces  of  religion.  Even  religion 
is  taken  as  an  incident  of  the  play,  to  be  rendered 
in  a  way  that  shall  not  be  "unworthy"  of  the 
distinguished  actor. 

~No  doubt  the  stupor  into  which  he  had  fallen 
will  account  in  part  for  this  last  utterance.  After 
his  mind  had  been  fully  turned  to  the  great  theme 
of  religion,  a  momentary  unconsciousness  broke 
the  train  of  thought,  and  at  once  the  old  worldly 
habit  and  desire  of  fame  asserted  themselves,  and 
the  debility  of  disease  accounts,  in  part,  for  the 
effect. 

Such  is  man,  in  his  best  estate,  without  a  simple- 
hearted  trust  in  our  Savior. 

How  that  trust  lifts  a  man  out  of  the  human 
littlenesses  that  so  degrade  us  in  time !  Conscious- 
ness and  capacity  are  enlarged  by  direct  com- 
munion with  the  Infinite  Bein^.  Just  relations 


334  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

are  assumed  toward  God  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
world  on  the  other.  What  value  there  is  in  the 
world  is  taken  from  its  relation  to  God.  The  man 
triumphs  over  the  world  as  he  comes  near  to  God. 
"  This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world, 
even  our  faith." 

What  a  contrast  with  the  last  hours  of  the 
worldly  man,  the  great  statesman  and  orator,  does 
the  death  of  Whitfield  present.  A  divine  radiance 
is  upon  the  spirit  of  the  man.  He  has  lived  not 
for  this  world,  but  for  that  which  is  to  come.  He 
has  not  sought  the  praise  of  men,  but  of  God.  He 
has  been  doing  a  work,  not  acting  in  a  drama. 
Having  done  his  work  he  was  going  to  give  an 
account  of  his  labor  and  receive  the  reward  of  it. 
His  attitude  before  others  in  this  supreme  hour  was 
matter  of  no  moment.  God  was  "all  and  in  all." 
Man  was  nothing  to  Whitfield,  only  as  he  stood 
related  to  God. 

Here  was  a  man  as  far  from  being  "  a  brute " 
as  Mr.  Webster,  yet  he  was  "not  afraid  of  death." 
He  had  been,  but  he  was  not  now.  Something 
had  taken  away  that  fear.  What  was  it  ?  It  was 
Christ!  This  man  had  seen  Christ,  not  in  a  philo- 
sophical sort  of  way,  as  bringing  something  higher 
than  heathenism,  more  perfect  than  Judaism,  but 
in  the  personal  vision  of  faith.  In  this  vision  of 
faith  Christ  had  become  the  one  great  fact  of  life. 
In  Him  was  salvation.  In  Him  was  man  recon- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  335 

ciled  to  God.  In  Him  was  Life.  He  was  the  de- 
stroyer of  the  works  of  the  devil.  And  believing 
on  Him  with  the  heart  unto  righteousness  men 
came  into  fellowship  with  Him.  They  received 
His  Spirit.  They  were  born  again — became  chil- 
dren of  God  by  faith  in  Him.  Then  they  were 
one  witli  Him  as  He  with  the  Father,  and  where  He 
was  they  should  be  also.  These  are  no  Websterian 
platitudes  about  Christ  and  Moses — they  are  very 
pulsations  of  the  heart  of  Christ.  W bitfield  did 
not  speculate  about  Christ ;  he  believed  in  Him. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  Son  of  God,  was  his 
Savior  He  had  given  Him  unfaltering  trust  and 
undivided  fealty.  He  had  not  asked  any  ques- 
tions as  to  what  might  be  "unworthy  of  Whit- 
field,"  but  desired  only  to  know  what  was  the 
will  of  God.  And  now  he  realized  a  glorious 
truth  of  revelation :  "  The  sting  of  death  is  sin 
and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law,  but  thanks  be 
to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord."  His  was  the  faith  that  over- 
came death,  and  cast  out  the  fear  of  it.  Read 
the  following  simple  account  of  his  last  hours  : 

"The  time  came  for  Whitiield  to  die.  The  man 
had  been  immortal  till  his  work  was  done.  His 
path  had  been  bright,  and  it  grew  brighter  to  the 
end,  like  that  of  the  just. 

" '  You  had  better  be  in  bed,  Mr.  Whitfield,'  said 
his  host,  the  day  he  preached  his  last  sermon. 


336  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

" '  True,'  said  the  dying  evangelist,  and  clasp- 
ing his  hands,  cried :  '  I  am  weary  in,  not  of,  thy 
work,  Lord  Jesus.' 

"  He  preached  his  last  sermon  at  Newburyport. 
Pale  and  dying,  he  uttered  therein  one  of  the  most 
pathetic  sentences  which  ever  came  to  his  lips : 

'"I  go  to  my  everlasting  rest.  My  sun  has 
risen,  shone,  and  is  setting — nay,  it  is  about  to 
rise  and  shine  forever.  I  have  not  lived  in  vain. 
And  though  I  could  live  to  preach  Christ  a  thous- 
and years,  I  die  to  be  with  him — which  is  far 
better.' 

"  The  shaft  was  leveled.  That  day  he  said :  '  I 
am  dying ! '  He  ran  to  the  window ;  lavender 
drops  were  offered ;  but  all  help  was  vain ;  his 
work  was  done.  The  doctor  said :  '  He  is  a  dead 
man.'  And  so  he  was ;  and  died  in  silence.  Christ 
required  no  dying  testimony  from  one  whose  life 
had  been  a  constant  testimony. 

"  Thus  passed  away,  on  September  30th,  1770, 
one  of  the  greatest  spirits  that  ever  inhabited  a 
human  tabernacle.  The  world  has  ever  been  an 
immeasurable  gainer  by  his  life.  He  had  preached 
eighty  thousand  sermons,  and  they  had  but  two 
key-notes :  1.  Man  is  guilty ;  he  must  be  pardoned. 
2.  Man  is  immortal ;  he  must  be  happy  or  wretched 
forever." 

Thus  ascended  a  human  soul  aglow  with  the 
light  of  God.  No  earth- spot  was  to  be  seen  upon 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  337 

it.  So  fully  does  Jesus  save  where  he  is  wholly 
trusted.  So  does  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  dissi- 
pate the  darkness  of  death  when  His  beams  are 
not  shut  out  by  human  pride.  "I  go  to  my  ever- 
lasting rest.  My  sun  has  risen,  shone,  and  is  set- 
ting— nay,  it  is  about  to  rise  and  shine  forever/' 
No,  a  man  need  not  sink  into  the  insensibility 
of  the  brute  to  overcome  the  fear  of  death.  He 
may  rise  to  the  higher  sensibilities  of  faith  and  of 
divine  love,  in  which  case  not  only  is  fear  over- 
come, but  "  death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory." 
"  O  !  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  !  grave,  where 
is  thy  victory  ?  " 

"  Death  is  the  gate  to  endless  joy  ; 
Why  should  we  dread  to  enter  there  ? " 

But  the  life  of  the  proud,  the  sensual,  the  vain, 
the  flippant  man  never  kindles  into  this  blaze  of 
light  as  it  passes  out  of  sight.  Only  those  who 
have  been  dead  with  Christ  in  the  world  live  with 
Him  in  death.  It  is  the  Christ-like  spirit  that 
passes  into  life  instead  of  death.  It  is  the  path 
of  the  just  that  is  as  the  light  that  shineth  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  Life,  realizing 
itself  in  fame,  or  wealth,  or  pleasures  of  this  life, 
when  it  goes  into  death  passes  out  of  the  sphere 
of  all  these  sources  of  its  illumination.  It  goes 
into  darkness — into  the  blackness  of  darkness 
forever.  Only  the  life  that  realizes  itself  in  God 

comes  into  that  light  which  shines  every  where 
22 


338  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

and  evermore.  Death  has  no  caverns  which  it 
does  not  penetrate.  He  who  lives  in  Christ  is 
dead  to  the  world  while  he  lives,  and  lives  to  God 
still  when  he  dies.  "  Ye  are  dead,  and  your  life 
is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  When  Christ,  who  ia 
your  life,  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  appear 
with  Him  in  glory." 

Such  an  instance  of  victory  over  death  in  a  man 
of  the  highest  sensibility  has  been  furnished 
recently  from  our  own  ranks.  Rev.  W.  A.  .Smith, 
in  the  last  hours,  declared  that  he  could  compare 
his  feelings  to  nothing  but  "a  quiet  lake,  in  a 
deep  forest,  under  a  clear  sky."  What  an  image 
of  peace — of  the  absence  of  fear!  u  Thou  wilt 
keep  him  in  PERFECT  PEACK  whose  mind  is  stayed 
on  TUee,  becase  he  TKDSTETII  IN  THEE."  I  love 
to  contemplate  this  great  soul  in  absolute  repose 
upon  God.  The  following  account  of  his  death  is 
from  a  brief  sketch  furnished  by  Rev.  J.  C.  Gran- 
berry  to  the  Richmond  Christian  Advocate: 

"  With  sad  hearts  we  looked  on  the  ghastly  face 
of  our  venerable  father  and  friend  ;  unchanged  in 
mind  and  heart,  in  body  he  was  the  wreck  of  his 
former  self.  The  last  two  months  of  his  life  he 
was  confined  to  his  room,  and  for  the  most  part  to 
his  bed.  He  did  not  suiter  much  physical  pain,  but 
his  nervous  system  was  shattered,  and  his  rest- 
lessness and  depression  on  this  account  was  often 
extreme.  He  received  the  greatest  attention  from 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  339 

numerous  friends,  both  of  his  own  Church  and  of 
the  general  community,  and  they  spared  no  pains 
to  make  him  as  comfortable  as  possible.  He  de- 
lighted in  society,  and  would  seem  himself  again, 
the  noble  Christian  sage  and  leader,  as  with 
kindling  eye  and  voice  that  had  not  wholly  lost 
its  old  tone  of  authority,  he  discussed  at  length 
the  sublime  truths  of  the  Gospel  and  the  interests 
of  our  Church.  "With  special  unction  and  power 
did  he  dwell  on  the  declaration  of  John,  '  God  is 
love.'  His  friends  saw  that  he  steadily  grew  worse, 
but  this  fact  he  did  not  understand.  He  felt  that 
there  was  life  in  him  yet,  and  he  hoped  soon  to 
return  West  and  complete  the  enterprise  on  which 
his  heart  was  set — the  building  up  of  the  great 
Missouri  College.  He  had  a  hard  iight  with  death, 
and  if  strength  of  will  could  have  availed  in  the 
struggle,  he  would  not  have  been  conquered.  He 
believed  that  his  work  was  not  yet  finished,  and 
therefore  he  was  loth  to  die.  But  this  desire  to 
live  did  not  conflict  with  entire  resignation  to  the 
will  of  God  and  an  assured  hope  of  eternal  life. 
He  expressed  himself  fully  on  this  subject.  In 
his  youth  he  had  given  his  heart  to  Christ,  and 
though  he  had  often  erred,  he  had  never  recalled 
that  act  of  self-surrender,  nor  did  his  trust  in  his 
Savior  waver.  His  mind  was  full  of  peace  in  the 
prospect  of  the  eternal  hereafter.  It  was  a  lake 
embosomed  in  a  deep  forest;  the  rough  winds 


340  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

could  not  find  it,  but  there  it  lay  with  an  unruffled 
surface.  This  is  the  beautiful  figure  by  which  he 
described  the  state  of  his  mind.  He  was  fond  of 
hearing  the  sweet  songs  of  Zion,  and  they  wafted 
him  to  the  pearly  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 
The  last  few  days  he  was  so  feeble,  and  a  bronchial 
cough  so  constantly  harassed  him,  that  he  could 
say  little.  '  I  have  so  much  to  say  to  you,'  he  whis- 
pered in  my  ear,  'but  I  can't  say  it  now.'  He  re- 
tained the  clearness  of  his  faculties  until  a  few  hours 
before  his  death ;  almost  without  a  struggle  he  fell 
asleep  in  Jesus." 

It  is  often  the  case  that  Christ  becomes  more 
and  more  to  a  man  as  he  nears  death.  Indeed,  I 
think  this  is  the  common  experience  of  His  people. 
Rev.  George  W.  Bewley,  of  the  Missouri  Confer- 
ence, died  in  the  autumn  of  1846.  He  was  a  lead- 
ing man  amongst  us  in  his  day.  Endowed  with 
an  incisive  intellect,  acute,  brilliant,  full  of  re- 
sources, intrepid  and  intense,  he  was  much  given 
to  controversial  preaching.  In  all  questions  at 
issue  between  our  Church  and  others  he  was 
adept.  We  had  at  the  time  few  men  of  equal 
cultivation.  On  the  mode  of  baptism,  infant  bap- 
tism, justification  by  faith,  the  Divinity  of  Christ, 
the  universality  of  the  atonement  and  the  free 
agency  of  man  in  receiving  Christ,  he  was  a  mas- 
ter. He  wielded  his  blade  with  a  dextrous  hand 
when  any  comer  made  battle  on  these  issues.  In 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  341 

fact  he  relished  the  fray.  His  religious  beliefs 
were  very  deep,  his  convictions  strong.  The  truth, 
as  Christ  and  the  Apostles  taught  it,  was  a  thing 
most  holy.  The  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints 
was  to  be  contended  for. 

He  did  a  great  work.  In  many  communities  in 
Missouri  he  laid  the  doctrinal  foundations  broad 
and  firm.  This  is  a  service  done  by  the  fathers 
which  we  do  not  always  rate  at  its  true  value. 
Bewley  was  a  man  of  feeble  health,  laboring  under 
pulmonary  disease  for  years.  He  was  once  preach- 
ing in  the  court-house  at  Richmond  on  the 
Divinity  of  Christ,  which  great  fact  was  habitually 
assailed  in  that  region.  A  small  blood-vessel  was 
ruptured.  The  blood  came  into  his  mouth  and 
was  wiped  off  with  a  white  handkerchief  The 
bloody  white  handkerchief  spoke  volumes  to  the 
hearts  of  the  hearers.  It  gave  emphasis  to  the 
fervent  words  of  the  preacher.  Tears  flowed 
from  unaccustomed  eyes.  There  was  sobbing  all 
through  the  house.  Redman,  sitting  behind  him, 
sprang  to  his  feet,  seized  his  arm  and  begged  him 
to  desist,  for  he  preached  on  as  if  nothing  had 
happened.  Rousing  his  slight  frame  with  the 
strength  of  a  lion,  Bewley  pushed  his  friend 
aside,  exclaiming,  "  Let  me  alone;  I  would  rather 
die  defending  my  Lord  and  Master  from  these 
aspersions  than  in  any  other  way."  Years  after- 
ward I  was  told  that  the  Divinity  of  Christ  had 


342  LIFE    OF    CAPLE8. 

never  been  publicly  questioned  in  that  community 
since  that  day. 

When  he  was  near  his  end,  in  Hannibal,  his 
friend,  Rev.  J.  Lanius,  then  Presiding  Elder  of 
the  Hannibal  District,  asked  him  if  he  would 
change  his  course  in  any  material  respect  were  it 
granted  him  to  live  his  life  over  again.  After  a 
pause  of  some  minutes  he  replied  in  effect :  "  There 
is  only  one  particular  in  which  I  could  wish  to 
amend  my  ministry.  I  have  preached  the  true 
doctrine.  I  have  defended  it  earnestly.  I  would 
change  nothing.  But  I  would  preach  Christ 
more."  Thus,  at  the  gateway  of  eternity,  did  this 
earnest  man  see  in  a  new  light  that  to  preach 
Christ  is  the  one  great  business  of  the  ministry. 
At  that  moment  he  would,  if  possible,  have  put 
all  of  self  out  of  every  sermon  he  had  preached 
and  tilled  the  place  with  Christ. 

His  friend  Lanius,  also,  gave  a  dying  word  to 
the  Church  in  Missouri,  especially  to  the  preachers, 
that  ought  never  to  pass  out  of  mind.  He  died  at 
Fayette  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Con- 
ference which  met  there  in  1851,  when  Bewley  had 
been  with  God  five  years.  Bro.  Lanius  had  often 
said  he  feared  death.  I  have  several  times  heard 
him  make  the  statement  in  love  feasts.  He  affirmed 
distinctly  that  he  did  not — he  felt  he  did  not — fear 
to  go  into  the  presence  of  God.  He  felt  that  his 
peace  was  made.  He  trusted  the  Son  of  God 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  343 

without  any  misgiving  on  that  point.  "What  h.e 
dreaded  was  "  the  death  struggle — the  pain,  the 
agony,  in  articulo  mortis."  These  were  his  very 
words.  Many  now  living  will  remember  them. 

His  last  illness  was  painful  in  the  extreme. 
But  the  last  hours  were  not.  His  body  was  at 
ease,  his  mind  in  peace.  He  knew  that  he  was 
dying.  His  own  conviction  was  confirmed  by 
friends  and  by  his  physician.  When  the  last 
doubt  on  the  point  was  removed,  and  he  knew 
that  he  was  then  actually  dying,  he  called  on  a 
brother  present  to  bear  a  message  from  him  to  the 
preachers  of  his  Conference.  "  The  preachers," 
he  said,  "have  all  heard  me  say  that  I  feared 
death.  I  want  you  to  tell  them  all  for  me,  now 
that  I  know  the  fact,  that  it  is  nothing  for  a. 
Christian  to  die"  He  suffered  no  bodily  pain, 
and  his  heart  was  full  of  that  peace  which  the 
Savior  gave  to  His  disciples  when  He  breathed  on 
them  and  said,  "  Peace  be  unto  you." 

In  point  of  fact,  as  attested  by  the  history  of 
Christian  experience  from  the  first,  the  disciples 
of  Jesus  do  confront  death  without  fear.  That  is, 
I  mean,  His  true  followers — those  who  have  been 
born  again  and  come  to  know  in  their  own  lives 
the  "  power  of  his  resurrection." 

ISTot  uni'recjuently,  while  yet  in  the  flush  of 
health,  they  look  forward  to  the  hour  of  death 
with  dread.  I  have  known  many  who  did  so. 


344  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

Death  is  a  fact  against  nature.  A  natural  repug- 
nance to  it  is  common  with  men.  All  feel  it. 
Very  earnest  Christians  often  feel  it.  It  is  the 
voice  of  our  nature  that  cries  out  against  death — 
not  our  sinful  nature,  but  our  essential  nature. 
That  a  mind  in  healthy  tone,  while  yet  life  is 
flush,  and  all  its  relations  happy  and  its  endear- 
ments unembittered,  should  welcome  death,  is  due 
to  that  God  who  caused  the  light  to  shine  out  of 
darkness,  and  who  now,  by  the  Spirit,  shineth  in 
our  hearts,  giving  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of 
the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ.  It 
is  an  astounding  fact  that  evil  in  some  of  its  dead- 
liest forms  has  the  power  to  crush  out  the  love  of 
life,  so  that  the  victim  of  it  accepts  death,  in  spite 
of  the  deep  repugnance  of  nature  to  it,  as  a  de- 
liverer from  something  more  dreadful  than  itself. 
So  faith  in  Christ  secures  the  manifestation  of  God 
in  such  a  degree  as  to  master  the  dread  of  death, 
deep-rooted  as  it  is  in  the  very  essence  of  the«oul. 
In  this  instance  it  is  not  one  evil  sought  as  a 
refuge  from  another  felt  to  be  greater.  It  is  death 
consciously  overcome  by  a  higher  life.  The  life 
of  faith  is  realized  to  be  so  full  in  God  that  death 
is  seen  as  a  mere  incident  in  the  course  of  its  pro- 
gress and  development,  which  operates,  in  fact, 
no  check  upon  it.  In  the  hand  of  the  Prince  of 
Life  it  has,  indeed,  been  reduced  to  a  place  among 
the  very  agencies  that  perfect  the  man  in  the  vital 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  345 

attributes  that  constitute  him  an  heir  of  celestial 
destinies.  Death  is  overcome. 

Yet  the  full  vision  of  truth  which  gives  victory 
is  not  always  realized  in  the  midst  of  life  and 
health.  Many  excellent  persons  are  troubled  with 
the  fear  of  death,  and  troubled  about  themselves 
because  they  are  not  fully  delivered  from  this 
fear.  They  infer  a  want  of  preparation  for  death 
from  this  fact.  "If  I  were  really  a  child  of  God, 
surely  I  should  have  no  fear  of  death."  I  have 
known  many  very  earnest  Christians  to  be  troubled 
and  perplexed  at  this  point. 

A  common  answer,  and  the  true  one,  is,  that  in 
full  health  we  do  not  need  dying  grace.  God 
gives  the  grace  that  is  needed.  What  we  have  to 
do  now  is  to  live,  not  to  die.  For  duties,  trials, 
temptations,  we  need  grace  now.  If  we  live  right 
we  will  have  it.  When  the  hour  comes,  the  faithful 
servant  of  God  will  have  grace  to  die. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  and  observation  I  have  never 
known  it  to  fail.  Several  notable  instances  have 
come  under  my  own  observation.  Nervous  women, 
who  have  held  their  own  Christian  character  in 
doubt  because  they  could  never  get  the  better  of 
their  fears,  I  have  seen  sweetly  welcome  the  mes- 
senger when  he  came  at  last.  I  have  never  known 
a  consistent  life  to  end  in  gloom.  Temptation 
sometimes  prevails  to  a  late  hour,  but  the  light 
springs  up  in  the  darkness  before  the  spirit  takes 


346  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

its  flight.  "  Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  thou 
art  with  me ;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort 
me." 

Surely  a  "cloud  of  witnesses"  assures  us  of 
final  triumph  if  we  are  faithful. 

Mr.  Caples'  theory  of  death  has  been  given  in  a 
former  chapter.  He  held  natural  death  to  be  a 
part  of  that  Condition  into  which  the  world  was 
brought  by  the  intervention  of  Christ  after  man  fell, 
every  element  of  which  is  made  an  agency  of  grace 
through  Him.  Suffering  in  this  world  is  not  puni- 
tive, but  corrective.  Physical  death  he  saw  to  be  a 
part  of  that  discipline  through  which  a  faithful 
Creator  is  preparing  His  creatures  for  high  ends. 
These  views  gave  character  to  the  sentiments  he 
realized  in  contemplating  the  grave.  Though  an 
enemy,  death  was  conquered  and  in  chains — a 
slave,  doing  service  that  none  else  could  do. 

Yet  "  no  chastening  for  the  present  seemeth  to 
be  joyous,  but  grievous."  He  did  not  trifle  about 
death.  It  is  a  solemn  necessity,  welcome  only  in 
view  of  its  relation  to  the  Christian  faith.  But  in 
this  relation  it  is  welcome — most  welcome — as  all 
pain  is.  It  is  welcome  because  it  is  a  part  of  that 
"furnace-heat"  which  softens  our  hearts  for  the 
chisel  of  the  Divine  Artificer. 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  317 

Pain's  furnace  heal  within  me  quivers, 
God's  breath  upon  the  flame  doth  blow, 

And  all  my  heart  in  anguish  shivers, 
And  trembles  at  the  fiery  glow; 

And  yet  I  whisper,  "  as  God  will !  " 

And  in  the  hottest  fire  hold  still. 

He  comes  and  lays  my  heart,  all  heated, 

On  the  hard  anvil,  minded  so 
Into  his  own  fair  shape  to  beat  it 

With  his  great  hammer,  blow  on  blow  ; 
And  yet  I  whisper,  "  as  God  will !  " 
And  at  the  heaviest  blows  hold  still. 

He  takes  my  softened  heart  and  beats  it — 

The  sparks  fly  off  at  every  blow ; 
He  turns  it  o'er  and  o'er,  and  heats  it, 

And  lets  it  cool,  and  makes  it  glow ; 
And  yet  I  whisper,   "  as  God  will !  " 
And  in  his  mighty  hand  hold  still. 

"Why  should  I  murmur?  for  the  sorrow 

Thus  only  longer  lived  would  be  ; 
Its  end  may  come,  and  will  to-morrow, 

When  God  has  done  his  work  in  me. 
So  I  sav.  trusting,  "as  God  will !  " 
And  trusting  to  the  end,  hold  still. 

He  kindles,  for  my  profit  purely, 

Affliction's  glowing  fiery  brand, 
And  all  his  heaviest  blow's  are  surely 

Inflicted  by  a  Master  hand. 
So  I  say,  praying,  "  as  God  will !  " 
And  hope  in  Him,  and  suffer  still. 

The  pain  is  fearful,  but  with  the  eye  of  faith 
upon  the  great  end  there  is  a  sustaining  power 
realized  which  makes  it  possible  to  say, 

''  Labor  is  rest,  and  pain  is  sweet, 
If  Thou,  my  God,  art  here." 

By  the  alchemy  of  faith  every  basest  thing  is 
transmuted.  "  Your  sorrow  shall  be  turned  into 
joy."  The  sorrow  does  not  give  place  to  a  joy 
which  comes  from  another  source,  but  is  itself 


348  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

"turned  into  joy"  Even,  death  becomes  the  con- 
dition of  a  higher,  divine  life.  "  Except  a  corn  of 
wheat  fall  into  ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone, 
but  if  it  die  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit."  Though 
this  passage  does  not  in  its  connection,  as  it  stands 
in  the  sacred  text,  bear  upon  the  question  of  natu- 
ral death,  yet  it  postulates  a  truth  that  covers  the 
whole  ground.  Life  is  conditioned  upon  death. 
Caples  saw  all  this,  felt  it,  preached  it.  It  affected 
his  heart.  It  nerved  him  for  the  coming  of  the 
final  hour.  Not  with  the  affected  indifference  of 
a  stoic,  not  with  the  reckless  despair  of  a  desper- 
ate man,  nor  yet  with  the  sullen  acquiescence  of 
a  helpless  victim,  did  he  meet  death,  but  with  the 
cheerful  courage  of  a  Christian. 

He  had  been  in  close  quarters  with  the  monster 
many  times.  He  had  often  been  under  the  same 
roof.  His  father  died  when  he  was  a  boy.  Later  his 
mother  had  fallen.  He  had  grappled  with  the  enemy 
still  closer.  His  first  wife  had  been  taken  into  the 
captivity  of  the  grave.  The  children  of  his  body 
had  gone  into  the  dust.  So  many  contests  had  he 
had  with  death,  so  many  defeats  had  he  suffered ; 
yet  ever  with  the  consciousness  of  victory,  for  to 
him  the  defeat  was  partial,  momentary,  and  to  add 
to  the  trophies  of  the  final  triumph.  He  had  even 
in  his  own  person  wrestled  with  death  when  all 
his  friends  were  in  despair.  But  he  had  been 
raised  up. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  349 

In  all  these  instances  the  sustaining  faith  of  the 
Gospel  had  saved  him  from  both  terror  and  des- 
pair. More,  it  had  given  him  a  cheerful  and  self- 
possessed  courage  that  diffused  itself  through  the 
domestic  circle  and  enheartened  all  who  were 
around  him  His  spirit  diffused  itself. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  war  he  felt  himself  at 
all  times  to  be  face  to  face  with  death.  How  he 
deported  himself  has  been  seen  in  a  former  chap- 
ter, and  will  be  in  the  following. 

From  all  I  can  learn  he  never  flinched.  He 
responded  to  the  scowl  of  the  enemy  with  a  quiet, 
level  eye. 

Hope  brightened  in  the  shadows.  What  moment 
death  should  strike  heaven  would  open.  He  was 
neailng  home,  and  longings  after  immortality  be- 
came more  ardent.  He  would  see  the  risen  Lord. 
He  would  see  father,  mother,  children,  wife.  He 
would  see  the  Patriarchs,  Prophets  and  Kings  of 
the  primeval  Church.  He  would  see  the  holy 
angels.  He  would  be  received  into  the  holiest 
place.  He  would  go  in  and  out  like  one  at  home 
in  the  Palace  of  God. 

Death  threatened,  but  it  only  brought  him  near 
to  the  world  where  there  will  be  no  more  death. 
The  most  fatal  blow  that  he  could  strike  would 
most  effectually  defeat  himself. 

Yet  there  was  a  reason  for  dreading  death. 
He  must  leave  a  wife  and  little  children,  helpless 


350  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

and  without  resources,  in  the  dreadful  war  times. 
How  should  they  battle  with  the  raging  elements? 
Here  was  a  test  of  faith,  severer  than  his  personal 
exposure.  To  be  able  to  commit  a  tender  wife 
and  helpless  children  to  God  at  such  a  time  seems 
to  me  to  be  the  very  highest  expression  of  inspired 
trust.  But  why  not  ?  Is  any  thing  too  sacred  to 
be  given  up  to  God  ?  And  there  are  special  prom- 
ises to  justify  our  fullest  confidence. 

There  is  an  emphasis  in  the  promises  made  to 
widowhood  and  orphanage  scarcely  to  be  found 
in  any  other.  "  A  Father  of  the  fatherless  and  a 
Judge  of  the  widow  is  God  in  His  holy  habita- 
tion." Well  may  we  commit  our  "  fatherless 
children  to  Him." 

We  often  note  how  unexpectedly  well  widowed 
mothers  manage  ancl  secure  their  households 
against  want.  When  human  resources  all  seem 
wanting,  every  day,  somehow,  there  is  bread ;  she 
herself  can  scarce  tell  how.  God  does  fulfill  His 
promises. 

So,  even  in  this  most  dreadful  aspect  of  his 
coming,  Mr.  Caples  met  death  with  composure 
and  trust.  He  would  not  dishonor  God  by  ques- 
tioning even  His  care  over  an  orphaned  and  wid- 
owed household,  cast  adrift  on  the  tempestuous 
ocean  of  civil  war. 

At  length  the  fatal  blow  descended.     There  was 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  351 

no  way  of  escape.     The  bony  hand  was  on  his 
very  heart.     He  must  die. 

After  long  expectancy  the  fatal  event  came  at  a 
moment  when  it  was  not  anticipated.  It  came  in 
unexpected  circumstances,  and  from  an  unlooked 
for  source.  So  that  much  as  he  had  been  kept, 
by  apparent  dangers,  on  the  watch,  he  was  des- 
tined in  the  end  to  realize  the  truth  of  the  Scripture, 
"At  such  an  hour  as  ye  think  not,  the  Son  of  Man 
cometh."  He  had  just  then,  when  the  fatal  stroke 
came,  a  feeling  of  security  that  he  had  not  known 
for  months.  The  dread  Reaper,  who  had  been 
swinging  his  scythe  in  sight  so  long,  had  just  now 
gone  out  of  view.  Before  he  knew  it  the  bolt  had 
fallen  and  he  lay  quivering  under  the  foot  of  the 
destroyer.  Buthe  was  ready.  "He  fell,  but  felt  no 
fear."  Wife,  children,  friends — all  save  himself — • 
were  in  consternation.  He  lay  at  the  gateway  of 
eternity,  calm,  peaceful,  happy.  He  rested  in 
God.  "  Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  Him." 
The  shadow  of  the  Almighty  was  over  him,  and 
the  very  darkness  was  a  beneficent  presence.  It 
is  ineffable,  this  child- spirit,  this  feeling  of  the 
Father's  arms  around  us  in  the  dark,  this  resting 
in  Almighty  Love  at  midnight.  Life  culminates 
in  such  an  hour.  Where  there  is  such  faith,  dying 
is  not  dying,  but  only  falling  asleep  —  falling 
asleep  in  the  Father's  arms.  Our  brother,  help- 


352  LIFE     OP     OAPLES. 

less  on  the  bed  of  death,  knew  how  blessed  it  is 
just  to  sink  into  God— 

"To  feel,  although  no  tongue  can  prove, 
Thut  every  cloud  which  spreads  above, 
And  veilcth  love,  itself  it  love." 

Rev.  J.  D.  Vincil,  who  was  with  Mr.  Caples  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  and  well  informed  with  regard 
to  the  closing  events  of  his  life,  has,  at  my  request, 
prepared  the  following  chapter. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  353 


CHAPTER  XV. 


LAST     DAYS. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Bro.  Caples  was 
appointed  Presiding  Elder  of  Brunswick  District 
at  the  Conference  session  held  in  St.  Charles,  Sep- 
tember, 1860.  He  was  re-appointed  to  the  same 
field  at  the  Conference  which  met  in  Glasgow, 
September,  1861.  Owing  to  the  disturbed  condi- 
tion of  the  country  the  Conference  did  not  assem- 
ble in  1862. 

In  the  autumn  of  1863  Bishop  Kavanaugh  made 
an  appointment  to  hold  a  session  of  the  Missouri 
Conference,  but  subsequently  revoked  it,  for 
causes  unknown  to  the  writer.  It  was  then  gen- 
erally supposed  that  there  would  be  no  meeting 
of  Conference,  as  was  the  case  the  previous  year. 
About  that  time  Bros.  Savage  and  Vandeventer 
addressed  Bishop  Kavanaugh,  earnestly  request- 
ing him  to  make  another  appointment  for  the 
Conference  to  convene.  The  Bishop  readily  con- 
sented, and  directed  the  brethren  to  assemble  on 
23 


354  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

the  14th  day  of  October,  in  Conference  capacity, 
at  the  place  chosen  at  their  last  meeting. 

According  to  the  authority  and  order  of  the 
Bishop,  Conference  assembled  in  Fulton,  October 
14, 1863.  The  fatal  illness  of  Bishop  Kavanaugh's 
wife  prevented  his  attendance.  Brother  Monroe, 
being  elected  President,  presided  over  the  Confer- 
ence deliberations  quite  satisfactorily.  But  it  will 
derogate  nothing  from  Bro.  Monroe's  character  as 
a  presiding  officer  in  the  Conference  room  and  in 
the  Cabinet  to  say  that  the  ripe  judgment,  rare 
ability  and  varied  experience  of  Wm.  G.  Caples 
contributed  largely  to  facilitate  business  and  ap- 
pointments. It  is  due  to  truth  and  to  his  memory 
to  say  that  he  was  felt  more  than  any  man  in  that 
Conference  assemblage.  He  participated  in  the 
business  and  labors  of  the  session  much  more 
actively  than  was  his  wont.  He  seemed  to  feel 
the  necessity  for  a  leading  spirit  in  the  body,  and 
most  worthily  did  he  meet  the  wants  of  the  hour. 
And  it  will  be  regarded  by  those  present  at  that 
session  as  no  disparagement  to  other  ministers  to 
say  that  he  did  THE  preaching  of  the  occasion. 
Two  sermons  will  long  live  in  the  memory  of  those 
who  heard  him. 

The  Synod  of  the  Old  School  Presbyterian 
Church  was  in  session  in  Fulton  at  the  time  of  our 
Conference.  Rev.  Dr.  Farris,  of  that  Church, 
present  editor  of  the  Old  School  Presbyterian,  was 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  355 

attending  the  Synod.  On  Sabbath  morning  he 
attended  service  at  the  Methodist  Church  to  hear 
his  cherished  friend  and  brother,  Caples.  The 
sermon  was  on  the  text,  "What  think  ye  of 
Christ?"  Dr.  Farris,  seated  in  the  pulpit  with 
the  preacher,  was  a  delighted  and  deeply  inter- 
ested listener.  On  no  former  occasion  was 
Brother  Caples  more  fully  master  of  the  subject. 
The  sermon  was  characteristic.  An  analysis  or 
outline  is  not  admissible  here.  But  it  was  a 
grand  vindication  of  the  Divinity  of  "  Jesus,  the 
Christ." 

On  Monday  afternoon  of  the  session,  "  accord- 
ing to  the  dying  request  of  Bro.  Robt.  C.  Hatton, 
late  a  member  of  our  Conference,  his  funeral  was 
preached  by  his  friend,  Rev.  William  G.  Caples. 
The  occasion  will  never  be  forgotten  by  those  who 
were  privileged  to  hear  the  discourse."  So  said 
the  committee  in  their  memoir  of  Rev.  R.  C.  Hatton. 
Surely  the  sermon  "  will  never  be  forgotten  "  by 
many  who  heard  it.  And  the  glory  that  was 
revealed  will  never  fade  from  the  minds  of  those 
who  realized  the  power  of  the  Highest  on  that 
ever-memorable  evening.  In  his  peroration  the 
mightiest  powers  of  Caples'  great  soul  were  un- 
chained, when  he  rose,  in  grandest  moods,  far 
above  anything  remembered  in  the  most  glowing 
efforts  of  his  life.  The  contrast  drawn  between 
Hatton  as  seen  when  taken  from  a  Federal  prison 


356  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

to  die,  and  as  seen  amid  the  glories  of  the  upper 
sanctuary,  was  singularly  grand  and  powerful. 

Said  he!  "  Could  the  sainted  soul  of  Hatton,  all 
dripping  with  glory,  walk  into  this  sanctuary  to- 
day and  speak  to  the  Conference  he  loved  so  well 
from  the  blissful  experience  of  heaven,  he  would 
say,  your  'light  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a 
moment,  shall  work  for  you  a  far  more  exceeding 
and  eternal  weight  of  glory.' '  The  manner  and 
matter  of  his  peroration  produced  an  effect  rarely 
ever  witnessed  in  these  days.  To  describe  accu- 
rately the  scenes  of  that  evening  is  simply  im- 
possible. It  was  hca/ven  realized  in  mighty  power 
on  earth.  Little  thought  those  present  then  that 
in  one  year  Caples  and  Hatton  would  be  together, 
sharing  that  "  eternal  weight  of  glory,"  an  earnest 
of  which  was  then  enjoyed  by  so  many  brethren 
beloved. 

On  the  20th  of  October  Conference  closed  its 
labors,  when  Bro.  Caples  was  appointed  to  Glas- 
gow Station.  He  moved  there  from  his  farm,  near 
Brunswick,  in  November,  and  took  charge  of  the 
Church.  That  he  was,  as  ever  before,  a  most  ac- 
ceptable preacher  to  the  great  majority  of  the 
people  in  that  community  is  a  truth  too  well 
known  to  admit  of  doubt  or  require  proof.  And 
yet,  in  some  respects,  that  was  not  the  most  pleas- 
ant year  of  his  life.  A  few  persons  in  the  Church, 
being  controlled  by  strong  political  feeling  more 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  357 

than  by  that  charity  which  "  thinketh  no  evil," 
in  connection  with  the  military  authorities,  caused 
him  no  little  trouble  and  annoyance.  It  was  a 
year  of  trial  to  his  lofty  spirit.  Aside  from  the 
deep  and  prolonged  affliction  of  his  wife,  which 
produced  constant  anxiety  and  apprehension  in 
his  mind,  there  were  many  other  external  sur- 
roundings of  a  character  calculated  to  render  his 
condition  most  unpleasant.  A  spirit  of  fierce 
opposition,  of  deep  dislike,  and  of  petty  persecu- 
tion, existed  among  his  enemies.  He  had  the 
manliness  to  think  for  himself,  independent  of  the 
dictates  of  partisan  behests.  That  was  a  crime 
then  with  the  ruling  power  not  to  be  tolerated. 
The  feeling  of  hate  shown  in  acts  of  the  most  in- 
famous kind  against  such  a  man  typed  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  times  and  the  ascendency  of  passion. 
The  various  methods  employed  to  annoy  him 
need  not  be  mentioned  here.  Let  such  things  and 
their  authors  be  forgotten  rather  than  honored 
with  the  perpetuity  of  historj^.  Having  passed 
through  that  eventful  and  trying  year  in  Glasgow, 
he  closed  his  labors  and  repaired  to  Conference, 
which  convened  in  Mexico,  September  14, 1864,  the 
last  he  ever  attended.  The  brethren  assembled  in 
Mexico,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  14th  September 
gathered  at  the  church  to  begin  their  Conference 
labors.  The  business  of  the  session  was  peremp- 
torily forbidden,  as  well  as  any  organization,  un- 


358  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

less  the  members  would  severally  take  and  sub- 
scribe an  oath  of  loyalty  as  a  condition  precedent. 
The  demand  was  made  by  the  Provost-Marshal 
of  the  Military  Sub-District.  "When  his  military 
highness,  Corporal  Gannet,  Provost-Marshal  afore- 
said, made  his  demand  in  person,  the  brethren 
quietly  dispersed.  They  resolved  not  to  conform 
to  any  requirement  of  a  political  or  military  char- 
acter as  a  qualification  to  sit  in  a  court  of  Christ. 
Bro.  Caples  was  looked  to  for  advice  in  the  matter. 
His  counsel  was  wise  and  prudent.  He  suggested 
that  an  organization  of  the  Conference  for  busi- 
ness should  be  deferred  until  a  "  greater  than " 
Gannet  would  interfere,  and  that  in  the  meantime 
the  brethren  give  themselves  to  prayer.  The 
Provost-Marshal  General  of  Missouri,  being  in- 
formed of  the  pert  doings  of  his  subordinate, 
issued  an  order  to  Corporal  Gannet  directing  him 
to  present  no  such  test,  but  "allow  the  Confer- 
ence to  organize  and  proceed  with  business.' 
Mr.  Gannet  and  our  enemies,  whom  he  was  serv- 
ing, having  been  defeated  in  their  bad  designs  tc 
prevent  our  session  being  held,  we  joyfully  assem 
bled  on  Friday  morning,  the  16th,  when  Brother 
Caples  opened  the  nineteenth  session  of  the  Mis- 
souri Annual  Conference  with  the  customary  re- 
ligious services.  In  the  absence  of  Bishop  Kav- 
anaugh,  the  Conference  elected  Andrew  Monroe 
President.  Brother  Caples  was  appointed  on  two 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  359 

most  important  committees  at  this  session.  He 
was  chairman  of  the  committees  on  Education  and 
on  Books  and  Periodicals.  The  report  on  Educa- 
cation  rendered  by  him  was  of  a  high  order,  and 
well  deserves  to  be  preserved  by  the  Conference 
as  the  last  document  ever  produced  by  the  strong 
mind  of  Caples.  Its  introduction  here,  however, 
is  not  deemed  advisable,  as  it  would  swell  this 
chapter  to  undue  proportions. 

During  this  session  the  preaching  of  Caples  was 
very  superior.  On  Sabbath  morning  he  filled  the 
Presbyterian  pulpit,  and  discoursed  to  a  vast 
audience  from  the  words  of  Christ  uttered  in  pres- 
ence of  Pilate :  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world."  The  sermon  was  strong,  original  and 
powerful,  and  withal  most  remarkably  appro- 
priate to  the  times  and  circumstances  in  which 
we  were  placed. 

A  few  years  since  a  living  writer  and  preacher 
treated  the  Church  and  the  world  to  a  lecture  on 
the  above  mentioned  text.  It  was  regarded  by 
those  who  heard  its  delivery  as  a  finished  and 
masterly  production.  Its  publication  was  earn- 
estly called  for,  and  it  appeared  in  print.  While 
reading  it  the  writer  did  not  wonder  at  the  im- 
pression produced  on  the  congregation  by  the  lec- 
ture, because  it  was  the  sermon  of  Bishop  D.  S. 
Doggett,  found  in  the  Southern  Methodist  pulpit, 
preached  by  that  scholarly  divine  on  the  text: 


360  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

"  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world."  With  Dr. 
Doggett  the  sermon,  "Christ  and  Pilate,"  was 
original.  With  the  lecturer,  the  production  was 
plagiarized. 

When  Caples  preached  on  the  text,  "  My  king- 
dom is  not  of  this  world,"  the  sermon  was  pecu- 
liarly his  own,  and  original.  An  outline  of  the 
sermon  was  sketched  at  the  time  of  its  delivery 
and  is  now  in  possession  of  the  writer. 

"  The  chief  points  distinguishing  the  kingdom 
of  Jesus  Christ  are :  1.  SPIRITUALITY.  2.  UNI- 
VERSALITY. 3.  UNITY." 

The  kingdom  of  Christ  is  Spiritual,  "not  of 
this  world."  Universal,  open  to  all  mankind  as 
its  subjects.  Its  unity,  or  oneness,  is  seen  in  that 
it  admits  all  to  its  privileges,  and  to  EQUAL  privi- 
leges, all  being  the  children  of  GOD  by  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ. 

The  sermon  was  delivered  "in  demonstration 
of  the  spirit  and  of  power."  The  effect  was  deep, 
and  doubtless  lasting.  It  will  be  remembered  by 
some  who  heard  it  as  the  last  they  ever  listened 
to  from  the  beloved  Caples. 

He  preached  one  other  discourse  during  the 
sitting  of  Conference.  On  Monday  the  committee 
superintending  public  worship,  through  their  chair- 
man, the  lamented  Edwin  Robinson,  made  the 
following  announcement :  "  Preaching  to-night  by 
Bro.  Caples,  at  the  request  of  the  outsiders."  To 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  361 

the  "  outsiders  "  he  did  preach.  And  such  a  ser- 
mon !  Who  has  forgotten  the  mighty  appeals  of 
that  solemn  hour  ?  May  the  seed  sown  that  even- 
ing yield  an  hundredfold. 

The  Conference  adjourned  on  Tuesday  p.  M., 
but  many  of  the  preachers  could  not  leave  until 
the  morrow,  for  want  of  a  train  west.  At  night  a 
sermon  was  preached  by  one  of  the  brethren  on 
the  Priesthood  and  Mediation  of  Christ,  and  fol- 
lowed by  an  exhortation  from  Caples.  The  theme 
was  Caples'  glory  and  delight.  How  glowing  the 
faith  and  enraptured  the  soul  of  the  speaker 
while  following  our  "Great  High  Priest"  as  he 
"  passed  into  the  heavens."  'Twas  then  he  uttered 
those  sublime  words  :  "  Take  away  my  life  and  in 
a  few  moments  I  will  raise  a  shout  on  the  other 
shore  that  will  astonish  the  angels."  The  closing 
prayer  offered  by  him  that  evening  will  be  treas- 
ured as  a  precious  memento  by  many  who  heard 
his  voice  for  the  last  time  on  earth.  He  bore  to  the 
Divine  Throne  his  brethren  beloved  of  the  Con- 
ference, "  whose  faces  we  may  see  no  more  in  the 
flesh."  How  sadly  prophetic  those  words !  Ere 
another  gathering  of  the  Conference  three  of  those 
present  that  night  had  "  passed  into  the  heavens  " 
and  met  on  "  the  other  shore,"  to  raise  "  a  shout " 
unheard  among  "  the  angels  "  before.  A  Caples, 
a  Robinson,  and  a  Young  were  called  hence  to  be 
with  Christ. 


362  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

Brother  Caples  was  re-appointed  to  Glasgow 
Station,  and  returned  to  his  work  at  once,  reach- 
ing home  on  Thursday,  the  22d  day  of  September. 

The  following  Sabbath  his  pulpit  was  occupied, 
morning  and  evening,  by  the  writer,  so  that  he  did 
not  preach.  The  succeeding  Sabbath,  the  same 
visiting  brother  being  in  town,  found  Bro.  Caples 
quite  indisposed,  but  did  not  occupy  his  pulpit, 
having  promised  to  preach  for  the  Presbyterian 
congregation.  Bro.  Caples  preached  his  last  ser- 
mon that  morning.  His  indisposition  increased 
so  as  to  prevent  the  occupancy  of  the  pulpit  at 
night,  which  was  filled  by  his  friend  and  brother, 
who  was  still  on  a  visit  there.  This  was  the  2d 
day  of  October.  This  brother  minister  visiting 
Glasgow  was  with  him  from  the  assembling  of 
Conference  at  Mexico  until  he  passed  away. 
During  this  last  week  of  his  life  they  were  to- 
gether every  day.  Many  cherished  interviews 
are  remembered,  and  will  be  ever.  We  were  in 
the  midst  of  perilous  times.  Military  despotism 
reigned  supreme.  Southern  men,  or  men  suspected 
of  Southern  sympathies,  were  marked  and  evil 
was  determined  on  concerning  them.  The  more 
prominent  the  man,  the  greater  the  injury  sought 
to  be  done  him.  Hence,  Caples  was  a  conspicuous 
target  for  malevolence  to  shoot  at.  While  he  was 
a  man  of  undissembled  Southern  feelings,  yet  no 
more  quiet  and  law-abiding  citizen  lived  in  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  363 

land.  But  this  was  not  sufficient.  He  must  yield 
convictions  of  right  and  give  up  principles  or 
suffer.  The  former  Caples  never  did.  The  latter 
he  was  prepared  to  do.  At  that  time  lawless 
bands — marauders  or  bushwhackers,  as  they  were 
styled — were  roaming  through  the  country,  perpe- 
trating many  outrages  upon  peaceable  citizens. 
As  to  the  soldiery  of  the  land,  they  and  the  bush- 
whackers were  not  on  terms  sufficiently  good  to 
come  in  sight  of  each  other  when  it  could  be  easily 
avoided.  An  intimate  acquaintance  or  personal 
interview  was  not  desirable.  Hence,  when  the 
bushwhackers  would  make  a  raid  on  the  tele- 
graph lines  and  cut  the  wires,  citizens  instead  of 
soldiers  were  detailed  to  repair  the  damages. 
The  danger  attending  the  performance  of  such 
work  was  evidently  very  great,  as  those  engaged 
were  liable  to  be  attacked  and  shot  down  at  any 
time  by  the  bushwhackers.  Brother  Caples  was 
sent  on  such  duty  by  military  authority,  at  the 
instance  of  citizens  of  Glasgow,  who  had  formerly 
professed  great  friendship  and  admiration  for  him. 
There  is  not  an  existing  doubt  but  those  who 
offered  him  such  indignities  expected  and  desired 
that  Caples  would  fall  by  the  hands  of  those  who 
were  raiding  through  the  country,  preying  alike 
upon  Union  and  Southern  people.  The  joy  of 
such,  had  he  met  the  fate  they  hoped  for,  would 
have  been  akin  to  that  secret  satisfaction  felt  by 


364  LIFE    OP    CAPLE9. 

them  when  he  fell  by  a  stray  shot  from  Confed- 
erate cannon. 

On  Saturday  morning,  October  8, 1864,  at  early 
dawn,  the  thunder  of  artillery  broke  in  startling 
peals  upon  the  ears  of  the  citizens  and  soldiery 
of  Glasgow.  Many  were  awakened  from  their 
morning  slumbers  by  the  roar  of  cannon  which 
opened  fire  on  the  town  from  the  opposite  side  of 
the  river,  manned  by  "Shelby's"  command.  Some 
awoke  that  morning  from  their  last  sleep,  until  the 
grave  became  their  bed.  Some  were  aroused  from 
peaceful  slumbers  to  fall  suddenly  by  the  hand 
of  war  to  rise  no  more,  others  to  fall  wounded,  to 
linger  amid  sufferings,  and  to  die  by  degrees. 
Amongst  the  latter  was  our  own  beloved  Caples. 
When  the  Confederates  began  their  cannonade 
many  of  the  people  of  Glasgow  fled  the  town. 
Perhaps  all  left  who  could  do  so  with  any  safety, 
and  those  who  did  leave  were  certainly  very  much 
exposed.  Shells  came  screaming  and  screeching 
across  the  river,  falling  here  and  there,  endanger- 
ing the  lives  of  non-combatants  more  than  those  at 
whom  the  fire  was  supposed  to  be  directed.  At 
times  shot  as  well  as  shell  fell  in  unwelcome 
proximity  to  men,  women  and  children,  who, 

"Hurrying  to  and  fro  in  hot  haste," 

sought  to  find  asylum  from  the  frightful  storm 
of  death-dealing  missiles  which  hurtled  over  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

devoted  town.  Scarcely  had  the  flying  fugitives 
reached  the  suburbs  of  the  town  and  gotten  out 
of  danger  from  the  fire  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  until  they  were  surrounded  by  Clark's  Di- 
vision of  cavalry  that  swept  around  from  another 
point.  This  command  had  crossed  the  river  below 
Glasgow  some  miles  and  marched  up  on  the  same 
side  of  the  town.  When  at  a  proper  distance 
Clark's  artillery  opened  fire  upon  the  Federal 
camp,  which  was  stationed  near  the  outskirts  of 
the  town.  The  Federal  soldiers  hurriedly  left 
camp  and  retreated  to  their  intrenchments  on  an 
eminence  near  the  center  of  Glasgow.  The  Con- 
federate forces  moved  forward  to  an  advanced 
position,  and,  with  artillery  and  small  arms,  opened 
a  heavy  fire.  Thus  Glasgow  was  between  two  fires, 
Shelby's  command  thundering  from  the  West  side 
(across  the  river),  and  Clark's  Division  completely 
belting  the  place  on  the  town  side  with  a  cordon 
of  men.  The  artillery  from  both  commands  played 
upon  the  place  in  merciless  fury.  Shot  and  shell 
went  crashing  through  the  town  with  ill-directed 
aim,  striking  houses  and  tearing  up  the  private 
residences  of  citizens.  What  they  were  firing  for, 
or  at,  in  many  instances,  is  a  question  more  easily 
asked  than  answered. 

What  were  the  conflicting  and  painful  emotions 
of  the  people  of  Glasgow  during  those  terrible 
hours  may  be  imagined  faintly,  but  described 


866  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

never.  To  fly  was  next  to  impossible.  To  remain 
was  attended  with  imminent  peril.  Thus  forced 
to  stay  amid  such  scenes  as  unwilling  spectators 
of  a  fearful  drama  was  a  trial  none  will  ever  forget 
or  desire  to  endure  again.  Added  to  the  surging 
storm  of  battle  raging  in  their  midst  was  another 
appalling  calamity.  The  fire  demon  was  turned 
loose  by  order  of  a  miscreant  who,  reckless  of 
consequences,  applied  the  torch  to  the  City  Hall. 
Soon  the  flames  communicated  to  other  buildings 
and  the  surges  of  destruction  rolled  on,  carrying 
away  the  homes  and  fortunes  of  many.  Family 
residences,  churches,  public  buildings  and  busi- 
ness houses  alike  melted  before  the  fiery  destroyer 
as  he  stormed  over  the  fairest  and  best  portion  of 
the  city.  The  scenes  and  events  of  that  terrible 
day  linger  with  fearful  distinctness  in  the  memory 
of  those  who  were  so  unhappily  situated.  Sad 
and  gloomy  were  the  hours  as  deep  uncertainty 
hung  over  the  fates  of  loved  friends  who  were 
prisoned  within  the  war-desolated  city.  To  those 
who  fled  when  the  first  alarm  was  given  the 
anxious  inquiry  occurred  time  and  again  through 
the  day,  "  Who  has  fallen  ? "  While  waiting  to 
hear  from  town,  as  we  lingered  in  the  vicinity, 
fearful  was  the  suspense  respecting  many  exposed 
to  the  perils  of  the  battle.  At  last  intelligence 
came  of  the  surrender,  and  with  it  the  most  sor- 
rowful tidings  to  be  met  with  in  a  lifetime:  "Bro. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  367 

Caples  is  mortally  wounded."  Hurrying  to  town 
we  found  that  the  news  was  fearfully  true.  He 
wa's  shockingly  injured,  and  was  suffering  unut- 
terable agony.  It  was  during  the  early  part  of 
the  day  that  this  most  sad  calamity  took  place.  It 
occurred  in  this  wise :  When  the  cannonade  from 
the  west  side  of  the  river  began  —  by  Shelby's 
command — Bro.  Caples  and  family  descended  to 
the  basement  of  the  parsonage  for  safety.  They 
were  joined  by  a  near  neighbor,  Dr.  Cropp  and 
family,  and  all  together  found  a  safe  refuge  in  the 
dining-room.  The  basement  wall  was  stone,  and 
served  as  a  protection  against  war  missiles.  The 
west  end  of  the  basement  wall  was  protected  by 
a  heavy  embankment,  where  the  cellar  had  been 
dug,  so  that  in  that  part  of  their  retreat  there  was 
complete  immunity  from  danger.  Had  Brother 
Caples  remained  within  doors  the  misfortune  here 
recorded  had  not  befallen  him.  At  what  precise 
hour  of  the  morning  this  fatal  disaster  occurred 
is  not  now  remembered.  But  while  the  parties 
named  were  occupying  the  dining-room  in  the 
basement,  Bro.  Caples  ventured  out  of  their  retreat 
on  to  the  pavement  fronting  the  parsonage  base- 
ment. From  the  pavement  a  stairway  ascends 
to  the  porch  and  to  the  rooms  above.  When  he 
stepped  out  of  the  basement  room  to  the  pave- 
ment, the  stairway  was  between  him  and  the 
river.  He  evidently  advanced  so  far  on  the  pave- 


368  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

ment  as  to  be  able  to  look  around  the  stairway  in 
the  direction  of  the  rebel  battery.  This  was 
shown  by  the  range  of  the  shot  which  felled  Mm. 
Fatal  look !  While  standing  thus  a  cannon  from 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river  was  fired,  it  is  sup- 
posed, at  the  Federals  in  the  City  Hall.  The  gun- 
ner carelessly  or  awkwardly  aimed  his  gun,  and 
the  shell  missed  the  hall.  Passing  on  northeast  it 
took  the  parsonage  in  its  range  and  went  crashing 
through  the  stairway  behind  which  Bro.  Caples 
was  standing.  From  the  manner  in  which  the 
ball  struck  him  he  must  have  been  leaning  for- 
ward, the  weight  of  the  body  thrown  upon  the 
left  leg,  which  was  in  advance  of  the  other,  the 
head  inclined  to  the  right,  looking  around  the 
stairway  toward  the  artillery.  In  that  attitude 
he  was  stricken  by  a  shell  of  probably  twelve 
pounds.  The  ball,  on  passing  through  the  stair- 
way, struck  the  studding  and  carried  off  a  heavy 
sliver  or  splinter  of  several  inches  in  length.  This 
was  driven  with  fearful  force  against  the  side  of 
his  leg  above  the  knee,  making  an  ugly  wound, 
laying  bare  the  flesh  to  the  bone.  At  the  same 
instant  the  shell  struck  the  thigh,  at  the  most 
fleshy  part,  a  few  inches  above  the  other  wound. 
While  the  flesh  was  fearfully  torn,  yet  the  bone 
was  not  broken.  The  wound  was  of  the  most 
ghastly  kind,  and  the  shock  to  the  nervous  system 
was  terrible,  from  which  it  never  recovered.  The 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  369 

physicians  said  reaction  never  fully  returned. 
Thus  in  a  moment  was  stricken  down  the  great 
and  noble  Caples,  to  rise  no  more.  Amid  suffer- 
ings unutterable  he  was  finally — so  soon  as  help 
could  be  procured — borne  up  to  his  room.  As 
soon  as  dangers  permitted  several  physicians  were 
called,  and  all  was  done  that  human  power  could 
do  to  alleviate  the  deep  agony  that  was  riving  that 
once  powerful  frame.  From  Saturday  morning 
till  Tuesday  night  there  was  seen  in  his  case  the 
mightiness  of  suffering.  But  it  was  all  physical. 
When  not  under  the  influence  of  powerful  opiates 
his  mind  was  not  only  clear,  but  calm  and  in  sweet 
repose.  At  no  time  did  the  writer  hear  him  utter 
a  murmur.  Scarcely  an  exclamation  of  pain 
escaped  his  lips.  There  was  a  quiet  grandeur 
and  almost  massive  self-possession  in  his  bearing 
throughout,  softened  by  a  gentleness  and  sweet- 
ness of  spirit  that  told  the  greatness  of  his  soul 
and  the  triumph  of  faith.  Being  with  him  from 
Saturday  to  the  closing  scene,  the  writer  knows 
whereof  he  affirms.  The  faith  of  years  and  the 
principles  of  a  grand  ministry  shone  out  in  hal- 
lowed beauty  as  he  neared  the  shadowy  vale. 
To  the  closing  of  that  grand  life  attention  is  now 
invited.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  "  hope,  which 
comes  to  all,"  cheered  our  tortured  hearts,  even 
while  we  greatly  feared  and  apprehended  the 
worst  But  on  Tuesday,  the  llth  of  October,  hope 
24 


370  LIFE     OP     OAPLES. 

died  out  of  our  hearts,  and  we  felt  that  his  end 
was  close  at  hand.  Loving  and  deeply  devoted 
friends  were  around  him.  At  times  during  the 
afternoon  drowsiness  overcame  him,  and  it  was 
with  an  effort  that  he  could  converse.  Singing 
was  proposed,  when  a  few  faltering  voices  joined 
in  singing: 

"On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand." 

We  felt  ourselves  singing  for  him  a  final  song, 
who  had  often  sung  for  us,  and  cheered  the  Israel 
of  God  in  the  weary  journey  he  was  now  complet- 
ing. We  sang  amid  tears.  When  the  song  was 
commenced  he  roused  himself  from  the  gathering 
stupor,  and  with  beaming  face  smiled  his  pleasure 
and  joy.  The  writer  then  approached  him  and 
said :  "  Bro.  Caples,  shall  we  pray  ? "  "  Yes,  pray, 
Bro.  Vincil,"  was  his  calm  response.  We  all,  in 
deep  solemnity,  knelt  around  his  bed  to  weep 
and  pray  with  him,  whose  prayers  had  so  often 
blessed  and  gladdened  our  hearts.  The  plea  of 
the  "  sisters  "  of  Lazarus  was  urged  with  sinking 
hearts :  "  Lord,  behold,  he  whom  thou  lovest  is 
sick."  Oh !  could  the  friend  of  those  loving  sis- 
ters have  consistently  interposed  in  behalf  of  our 
dying  Caples,  surely  the  prayers  of  that  evening, 
with  the  "  cries  and  tears "  of  the  grief-crushed 
wife  and  children,  would  have  brought  him  nigh — 
"  our  brother  had  not  died." 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  371 

Bro.  Caples  engaged  earnestly  in  the  devotions, 
and  responded  audibly  and  frequently  during 
prayer.  When  we  arose  his  face  bore  that  calm, 
sweet  and  happy  expression  which  told  of  the 
deep  peace  and  holy  serenity  dwelling  within. 
Knowing  his  fondness  for  a  certain  hymn,  the 
writer  sang  it  for  him  to  a  tune  which  he  always 
enjoyed.  Eighteen  months  before,  while  he  and 
the  writer  were  laboring  together  in  Glasgow  Sta- 
tion, we  sang  the  same  song  for  him  to  the  tune 
of  u  Summer,"  which  was  then  new.  He  became 
exceedingly  happy,  and  rejoiced  with  demonstra- 
tions rather  uncommon  for  him — going  through 
the  congregation  shouting  the  praises  of  God. 
Ever  after  he  was  delighted  with  the  song: 

"  I  would  not  live  alway,  I  ask  not  to  stay. 
When  storm  after  storm  rises  dark  o'er  the  way." 

When  we  had  concluded  the  prayer,  wishing  to 
cheer  his  last  hours  with  the  inspirations  of  sacred 
song,  we  all  united  in  singing  the  last  strains  he 
ever  heard  till  the  music  of  the  heavenly  songsters 
broke  upon  his  ear.  While  we  sang  his  face 
brightened  into  a  glowing  radiance,  reminding  us 
of  the  countenance  of  Stephen  in  the  council 
when  he  preached  his  last  sermon.  Bro.  Caples 
attempted  to  join  in  the,  melody  that  was  bearing 
his  soul  up  to  the  place  '"  where  the  saints  of  all 
ages  in  harmony  meet."  He  was  too  weak,  how- 
ever, to  sing,  but  repeated  'the  words  with  deep 


372  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

feeling.  When  the  song  was  ended  the  following 
conversation  passed  between  him  and  the  writer : 

"  Bro.  Caples,  we  fear  we  are  soon  to  lose  you. 
Much  as  we  love  you  we  feel  that  we  must  give 
you  up.  Tell  us  how  stands  the  case  with  you 
now,  in  view  of  'your  approaching  end  ? "  With 
the  most  settled  composure  and  sweet  serenity  he 
replied:  "My  brother,  my  race  is  about  run — 
suddenly  cut  short.  I  have  unexpectedly  reached 
the  end.  '  /  shall  soon  be  on  the  other  shore? " 
These  words  occurred  in  that  sublime  sentence 
uttered  by  him  at  Conference  in  Mexico,  three 
weeks  before  that  very  evening:  "Take  away 
my  life  and  I  will  raise  a  shout  on  the  other  shore 
that  will  astonish  the  angels."  How  near  we  all 
felt  he  was  to  "  the  other  shore  "  in  this  last  con- 
versation !  Realizing  that  a  few  more  pulsings  of 
that  noble  heart  would  land  him  among  the  angels, 
we  desired  his  final  expressions  to  cherish  as  sweet 
mementos  in  the  future. 

"Bro.  Caples,  when  we  meet  again  at  Confer- 
ence you  will  not  be  with  us.  We  will  miss  you. 
What  message  have  you  to  send  to  your  brethren  ?" 
Rallying  his  sinking  energies  he  replied  with  much 
feeling :  "  Tell  my  brethren,  from  me,  to  cleave 
unto  their  work."  Oh !  the  depth  of  meaning  that 
was  in  those  words,  as  we  listened  to  them  coming 
from  lips  soon  to  close  forever.  So  earnestly, 
calmly  and  deliberately  uttered,  as  a.  last  admoni- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  373 

tion  to  the  brethren  he  loved.  Would  that  they 
sounded  ever  in  our  ears. 

Seeing  that  he  was  much  exhausted  from  the 
protracted  interview,  we  inquired :  "  Bro.  Caples, 
can  you  still  say  that '  all  is  well  ?'  "  "  Ah !  yes," 
said  he,  "  all  is  well,  and  has  been  for  many  years. 
Long  ago  this  matter  was  settled.  I  have  lived 
for  this.  Though  suddenly  grown  weary  in  the 
journey,  I  will  soon  be  at  rest." 

With  this  our  conversation  ceased,  and  he  soon 
relapsed  into  a  quiet  slumber,  in  which  he  contin- 
ued until  after  nightfall.  Between  seven  and 
eight  o'clock  he  roused  up  and  spoke  quite  audibly. 
He  said :  "  I  have  been  sleeping."  "  Yes,  you 
have  been  resting  quietly  for  some  time.  How  do 
you  feel  now,  Bro.  C.  ? "  "  Easy,  but  weary,"  said 
he.  "  Give  me  some  water."  It  was  given  him, 
and  he  drank  a  little,  remarking,  "I  swallow 
badly."  It  was  with  difficulty  that  he  drank  the 
water.  After  a  few  moments  he  remarked  to  the 
writer :  "  Brother  Yincil,  I  am  weary  lying  in  one 
position  so  long ;  please  turn  me  a  little  on  my 
left  side."  He  had  lain  on  his  back  from  the  first. 
We  tenderly  moved  him  as  desired.  In  that  posi- 
tion he  remained  but  a  minute.  His  breathing 
became  labored  upon  his  left  side,  and  we  assisted 
him  to  turn  upon  his  back  again.  Then  it  was  we 
saw  the  last  struggle  commence,  so  soon  to  termi- 
nate. Then  it  was  his  great,  lustrous  eyes  shone, 


374  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

as  thousands  had  seen  them  shine,  with  the  fires 
immortal  that  burned  within  his  soul  when  swayed 
by  the  mighty  truths  to  which  he  gave  utterance. 
Then  it  was  that  his  always  expressive,  speaking 
countenance  beamed  with  glory,  kindled  intelli- 
gence and  expression  unwitnessed  before.  Then, 
with  eyes  upturned  and  filled  with  light  unearthly, 
he  raised  his  hands  and  waved  them  gently ;  look- 
ing and  pointing  upward,  he  exclaimed  in  full, 
rich  tones :  "  I  feel  that  I  am  going,  going."  It 
was  painfully  evident  that  he  was  "  going "  fast, 
and  no  power  here  could  detain  him.  Oh !  the 
sad  scenes  of  that  death  chamber !  There  stood 
the  agonized  and  deeply  loved  wife  of  his  heart 
plunged  in  sorrow  unsyllabled.  There  were  the 
children  of  his  love,  weeping — some  at  the  great 
and  gathering  gloom  overshadowing  their  young 
lives,  some  unable  to  comprehend  or  know  their 
loss.  There  were  friends,  tried  and  true,  sorrowing 
most  of  all  that  we  should  see  his  face  no  more. 
Oh !  cruel  death !  what  hast  thou  not  done  ?  From 
all  these  dear  ones  he  was  going.  Realizing  that 
to  live  was  Christ,  to  die  was  gain,  he  fixed  his  eyes 
upon  the  "  eternal  weight  of  glory  "  in  view.  Oh ! 
who  can  paint  the  scenes  that  passed  before  his 
mind  then !  For  the  moment  he  lost  sight  of  wife, 
and  children,  and  loved  friends,  in  the  enrapturing 
glories  of  the  breaking  future.  Standing  there,  on 
the  outer  limits  of  mortality,  he  gazed  with  bright- 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  375 

ening  vision  upon  the  scenes  of  beauty  which 
swelled  across  the  fields  of  view  like  a  sea  of 
golden  glory, 

"  Where  the  rivers  of  pleasure  flow  o'er  the  bright  plains, 
And  the  noontide  of  glory  eternally  reigns." 

He  must  have  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  heavenly 
rest  and  heard  entrancing  melody  from  "  the  other 
shore,  for  while  he  swept  his  eye  around  and  up- 
ward he  uttered  his  final  words  of  victory  on  earth : 
"  Oh !  what  I  am  gaining,  gaining,  gaining."  With 
the  last  note  of  triumph,  feebly  yet  distinctly 
spoken,  his  hands  fell  powerless,  his  eyes  closed,  a 
convulsive  shudder  shook  his  frame,  and  in  a  very 
short  time  the  great  soul  of  Caples  was  gone,  doubt- 
less, to  "  the  other  shore."  Our  loss — how  keenly 
felt  —  was  his  gain.  In  the  loneliness  of  "that 
stilly  night"  the  writer  sat  and  gazed  up  among 
the  stars,  thinking  of  the  path — swept  by  angels' 
wings  —  our  dear  Caples,  on  spirit  pinion,  had 
traveled  to  "  the  other  shore."  There,  amid  silence 
so  deep  that  it  was  painful,  with  upturned  ear,  I 
listened  to  hear  the  song  and  shout  of  Caples 
among  the  angels.  What  I  heard  not  I  im- 
agined, as  "the  newly  arrived"  took  high  rank 
among  the  intelligences  of  the  heavenly  company 
and  gave  a  deeper  swell  to  the  anthems  of  the 
redeemed.  Farewell,  dear  Bro.  Caples !  Earth 
has  been  sad  and  lone  since  thy  departure.  But 


376  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

oft  in  dreams  thou  art  with  me  still.    Farewell, 
loved  friend,  thou  art  gone, 

But  my  heart  is  turning  ever 

Where  thou  dost  happy  dwell ; 
And  in  thy  blissful  home  we'll  never, 

Never  again  say  farewell. 

On  the  day  following  his  decease  (the  12th)  we 
carried  his  remains  to  Brunswick.  On  Thursday, 
the  13th  day  of  October,  A.  D.  1864,  all  that  was 
mortal  of  Wm.  G.  Caples  was  laid  away  to  sleep 
"beside  his  loved  daughter,  "  Lottie,"  and  his 
former  wife. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  377 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


"THY  DEAD  MEN  SHALL  LIVE." 

The  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  was 
among  men  in  the  earliest  ages.  It  was  not  set 
in  that  clear  light  in  which  it  stands  in  the 
Christian  Scriptures,  but  the  most  ancient  myth- 
ology as  well  as  the  oldest  and  crudest  philoso- 
phy contained  it.  In  all  ages  men  have  believed 
that  they  would  survive  death.  The  rudest  savage 
casts  his  eye  forward  to  a  mysterious  life  to  be 
enjoyed  beyond  the  grave. 

But  with  the  ambitious  Greek  and  Roman  im- 
mortality was  often  looked  for  in  fame.  To  make 
a  name  that  should  not  perish  out  of  the  records 
of  men,  to  play  a  part  in  human  affairs  that  should 
be  historic,  seems  sometimes  to  have  appeared 
more  real  to  them  than  any  actual  life  of  the  soul 
in  the  world  to  come.  Hope  looked  forward  to  that 
rather  than  this.  Their  perception  of  spiritual 
truth  was  dim.  A  name  still  living  among  men 
upon  the  earth  was  a  fact  fully  in  their  vision.  The 


378  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

soul  living  among  the  immortal!  in  an  invisible 
world  seemed  shadowy  and  unreal.  It  was  not 
sufficiently  within  the  range  of  vision  to  be  an 
actuating  fact — to  be  the  source  of  motives  or  give 
color  to  expectation.  Yet  the  instinct  of  immor- 
tality was  strong,  and  looked  to  the  airy  shadow 
of  an  imperishable  name.  It  must  look  to  some- 
thing, and  to  the  depraved  imagination  of  an  am- 
bitious heathen,  fame  was  a  fact  more  evident  than 
any  spiritual  essence  to  rise  out  of  the  ruins  of 
death  and  live  forever. 

Ho\v  grand  is  the  Christian  conception  in  con- 
trast with  this  \  To  us  the  living  soul  is  every- 
thing, a  living  name  nothing.  To  live  with  God 
and  in  the  company  of  holy  angels  is  a  fact,  to 
live  in  fame  is  the  most  miserable  fiction.  Life 
and  immortality  have  been  brought  into  the  light — 
into  clear  disclosure — by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
We  stand  upon  the  boundary  of  a  world  more  real 
than  this.  Death  but  introduces  us  into  life. 

"The  life  everlasting"  was  no  remote,  unreal 
thing  to  him  whose  name  is  commemorated  in 
these  pages.  Little  thought  he  of  any  posthumous 
reputation.  This  book,  "The  Life  of  Caples," 
however  humble  in  pretension,  was  never  thought 
of  by  him.  If  it  had  been  it  would  have  offered 
a  miserable  substitute  for  the  immortality  on 
which  his  eye  was  fixed.  He  knew  that  he  would 
enter  upon  a  course  of  celestial  activity  and 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  379 

achievement  and  realize  life  in  a  fullness  of  con- 
scious power  and  pleasure  beyond  the  highest 
possibilities  of  earthly  imagination,  ^ny  lauda- 
tion of  him  by  us  dwellers  in  the  dust,  if  he  had 
anticipated  it,  would  have  seemed  most  trivial. 

The  love  of  applause,  indeed,  is  innate  in  us,  and 
Mr.  Caples  shared  it  with  all  other  men.  But  he 
rated  it  at  its  true  price.  It  would  have  been  im- 
possible, with  his  clear  vision  of  eternity  and  of 
God,  to  see  in  it  an  object  of  high  import  or  a 
substitute  of  personal,  actual  immortality. 

But  there  is  a  fact  within  the  vision  of  faith  that 
was  wholly  unknown  to  the  ancients.  The  fact 
of  the  resurrection  of  tlie  dead  is  found  in  the 
Christian  revelation  alone.  Of  it  the  heathen 
knew  nothing.  It  is  hinted,  and  little  more  than 
hinted,  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  and  that  in  later 
periods  of  prophetic  inspiration.  To  this  last 
statement  one  passage  in  the  Book  of  Job  forms 
the  solitary  exception.  "  In  my  flesh  shall  I  see 
God,"  and  this  after  worms  should  have  destroyed 
his  body.  No  affirmation  could  be  more  definite 
or  unequivocal.  But  it  is  by  no  means  a  promi- 
nent feature  of  the  Old  Testament  writings.  The 
New  Testament  is  full  of  it.  It  appears  both  in 
the  Gospels  and  in  the  Epistles.  The  Son  of  God 
proclaimed  Himself  "the  Resurrection  and  the 
Life."  Coming  up  Himself  out  of  the  grave,  He 
became  "  the  first  fruits  of  them  that  slept."  His 


380  LIFE     OF     CAPLES 

resurrection  is  the  prophesy  and  promise  of  ours. 
He  will  bring  "His  people  with  Him." 

The  fact  of  the  resurrection  is  brought  more 
distinctly  to  our  thought  and  faith  by  the  resur- 
rection of  the  Lord  than  it  could  have  been  in  any 
other  way.  It  is  represented  to  us  by  a  great 
event  of  history.  This  one  instance  of  it  stands 
in  the  past.  Not  in  any  mythical  past,  but  in  a 
period  and  amid  events  distinctly,  eminently  his- 
torical. It  is  actually  under  observation.  Noth- 
ing could  be  more  imposing,  more  impressive. 
"  The  third  day  He  rose  again."  So  all  the  dead 
shall  rise. 

There  is  an  astounding  tendency  to  perverse 
thinking  on  the  subject  of  religion.  One  form  in 
which  this  tendency  discovers  itself  is,  a  disposi- 
tion to  subject  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  a  sophistical 
species  of  interpretation,  and  thus  get  rid  of  their 
plainest  declarations.  This  is  done  by  men  who 
profess  to  accept  the  Bible  as  the  authoritative 
disclosure  of  Divine  truth.  There  is  a  strong  dis- 
position in  man  to  make  his  own  mental  predilec- 
tions the  standard  of  truth.  Even  when  he  formally 
admits  the  incapacity  of  his  own  mind  to  reach 
the  truths  of  religion  by  its  own  intuitions,  or  by 
any  process  of  rational  induction,  and  professes  to 
make  the  Word  of  God  the  standard,  he  will  de- 
stroy all  reliance  on  that  Word  and  virtually  set 
aside  its  authority  by  the  most  perverse  interpre- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  381 

tations  in  cases  where  his  preconceptions  are  con- 
tradicted by  it.  If  he  take  it  into  his  head  that 
there  ought  to  be  no  hell  he  will  stickle  at  no 
absurd  exegesis  to  put  it  out  of  the  sacred  text. 
So  if  he  gets  the  notion  that  a  final  Judgment 
Day  is  not  the  best  arrangement,  or  that  slave- 
holding  must  be  wicked,  he  will  make  any  havoc 
of  language  in  order  to  force  Scripture  to  say  what 
he  thinks  it  ought  to  say. 

Nothing  could  be  more  clearly  put  in  human 
language  than  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  body  is  in  the  Bible.  Any  species  of  interpre- 
tation that  will  get  rid  of  it  will  unsettle  the  mean- 
ing of  language  and  leave  us  uncertain  of  anything 
that  may  come  to  us  through  this  medium.  If 
this  fact  is  not  in  the  Scriptures,  then  all  speech 
is  deceptive  and  the  attempt  to  put  facts  into  any 
form  of  words  is  mere  folly  and  child's  play. 
Yet  you  will  find  men  who  take  the  Bible  as  con- 
taining the  matter  of  their  religious  beliefs  flatly 
denying  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body. 
They  will  contend  that  nothing  more  is  taught  in 
Scripture  than  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  that 
the  resurrection  is  predicated  of  the  soul  and 
not  of  the  body,  and  this  in  the  face  of  St.  Paul's 
affirmation  of  the  body :  "  It  is  sown  in  corruption, 
it  is  raised  in  incorruption ; "  and  of  the  formal 
declaration  that  our  "  vile  bodies  shall  be  raised 
and  fashioned  like  unto  Christ's  glorious  body." 


382  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ,  which  pledges  and 
types  the  resurrection  of  men,  was  a  resurrection 
of  the  body.  Indeed,  to  predicate  this  great  fact 
of  the  soul  is  an  absurdity  of  language,  for  the 
soul  does  not  die:  it  just  lives  on  when  the  body 
dies.  But  the  very  word  resurrection  means  living 
again.  The  dead  are  raised  up. 

To  all  doubts  and  perplexities  as  to  the  possi- 
bility of  the  fact,  the  triumphant  interrogatory 
affirmation  of  the  apostle  is  a  final  and  sufficient 
answer:  "Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing 
incredible  with  you  that  GOD  SHOULD  RAISE  THE 
DEAD?"  If  some  metaphysical  wiseacre  could 
have  been  in  existence  before  any  world  was  made 
the  fact  of  creation  would  have  seemed  impossible 
to  him.  But  since  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God 
have  appeared  in  this  first  stupendous  miracle,  it 
is  absurd  to  question  the  possibility  of  any  work 
He  has  promised  to  perform.  The  only  question 
is  as  to  whether  He  has  promised  to  raise  the 
dead.  Indeed,  this  is  not  a  question,  for  if  lan- 
guage means  anything,  if  speech  was  not  invented 
to  deceive,  we  have  the  pledge  of  our  Creator  that 
our  bodies  shall  be  brought  forth  in  the  last  day 
immortal.  "  For  the  trumpet  shall  sound  and  the 
dead  shall  be  raised,  incorruptible." 

"  But  some  man  will  say,  how  are  the  dead 
raised  up,  and  with  what  body  do  they  come? 
Thou  fool,  that  which  thou  sowest  is  not  quickened 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  383 

except  it  die ;  and  that  which  thou  sowest,  thou 
sowest  not  that  body  that  shall  be,  but  bare  grain ; 
it  may  chance  of  wheat,  or  of  some  other  grain ; 
but  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased  Him, 
and  to  every  seed  his  own  body."  "  It  is  sown  a 
natural  body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body.  There 
is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body." 

I  have  met  with  men  who  affected  an  elevation 
from  which  they  looked  down  with  contempt  on 
all  material  things.  Their  hope  contemplated  a 
pure  spiritual  existence  in  eternity.  They  had  no 
affection  for  their  bodies,  no  desire  to  recover  them 
out  of  the  domain  of  the  destroyer.  The  gross- 
ness  of  matter  was  odious  to  them.  It  was  too 
heavy,  too  clumsy,  a  mere  embarrassment  of 
spiritual  activities.  It  was  the  occasion,  if  not 
the  very  source,  of  all  corruptions.  The  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body  was  not  a  thing  to  be  desired. 

Alas !  for  poor  human  reason,  how  it  will  rattle 
away  when  it  gets  fairly  a-going  with  some  proud, 
foolish  conceit,  as  if  it  knew  everything,  and  as  if 
God  could  not  choose  our  conditions  for  us  with 
infinitely  more  wisdom  than  we  can  for  ourselves. 
No  doubt  the  ideal  man  is  given  in  the  duplex 
nature  with  which  he  was  created.  The  spiritual 
essence  finds  its  appropriate  vehicle  and  expres- 
sion in  physical  organs.  Nor  is  matter  necessarily 
so  very  gross  and  clumsy.  It  often  exists  in  highly 
sublimated  forms.  Take  the  electric  fluid  as  an 


384  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

example.  May  not  some  such  sublimated  form 
of  matter  compose  the  substance  of  the  resurrec- 
tion-body ?  May  it  not  have  been  this  which  the 
apostle  referred  to  in  that  statement :  "  There  is  a 
natural  body  and  there  is  a  spiritual  body;"  a 
body  so  refined  as  to  be  in  some  close  affinity  with 
spiritual  substances. 

We  may  very  well  believe  that  a  body  thus 
constituted  would  be  a  fit  habitation  of  the  im- 
mortal soul,  for  several  reasons  : 

First,  we  may  well  believe  it  to  be  so  subtle 
and  vital  as  to  be  independent  of  accidents,  and 
to  have  power  of  self-preservation  against  all 
violence.  We  may  well  believe  that  such  a  sub- 
stance, vitalized  by  a  spiritual  occupant,  will  have 
a  power  of  rejuvenescence  which  will  insure  im- 
mortality. 

Secondly,  we  know  that  matter  in  highly  sub- 
limated conditions  is  capable  of  an  activity  and 
force  unknown  in  grosser  forms.  This  is  seen,  for 
instance,  in  electrical  phenomena.  What  a  vehicle 
of  spiritual  activities  would  a  body  formed  of  some 
such  substance  be  ?  Only  think  of  it !  What  work 
might  not  be  accomplished  by  some  potent  spirit 
in  such  a  body  ? 

Thirdly,  it  is  altogether  rational  to  suppose  that 
matter  in  such  forms,  vitalized,  would  be  sensitive 
and  responsive  to  spiritual  touches  in  the  highest 
degree.  What  movements  might  not  be  antici- 


LIFE    OF    OAPLES.  385 

pated  from  the  power  of  volition  delivered  upon 
such  a  body  ?  The  momentum  of  a  simple  wish 
might  transport  it  from  one  world  to  another  in  a 
moment  of  time.  What  explorations  of  space 
will  be  practicable  then ! 

Fourthly,  how  vital  a  body  thus  constituted 
must  be  when  brought  into  identity  with  a  soul ! 
Even  our  gross  bodies  now  are  fall  of  life.  There 
is  power  in  the  soul  to  quicken  them  consciously 
in  every  part,  to  every  extremity.  But  one  con- 
stituted as  we  have  supposed,  so  susceptible  of 
spiritual  touches,  so  receptive  of  spiritual  com- 
munication, must  be  inexpressibly  vital.  There 
can  be  no  languor,  no  stupor,  no  stupidity.  Ac- 
tivity will  bring  no  fatigue.  Sensation,  secured 
against  abnormal  conditions,  will  suffuse  each 
member  and  muscle  with  pleasurable  conscious- 
ness. From  bone  to  epidermis,  every  organ  and 
every  membrane  will  be  replete  with  the  joy  of 
life. 

Fifthly,  such  a  body  must  be  a  transparent 
medium  of  spiritual  expression,  Even  the  coarse 
stuff  of  which  we  are  now  made  is  capable  of 
miracles  of  expression.  The  soul  sometimes  floods 
the  face  with  its  own  light.  The  eye  gives  most 
subtle  and  varied  reflection  of  thought  and  senti- 
ment and  passion.  From  the  gentlest  ripple  of 
reverie  to  the  grandest  swell  of  thought,  from 

the  quiet  sense  of  complacency  to  the  fervor  of 
25 


386  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

unbounded  love,  from  the  shadow  of  a  half-felt 
repugnance  to  the  fury  of  unbridled  revenge,  what 
myriad  complexities  and  shades  of  the  inner  life 
come  into  the  light  of  revealment  in  this  organ. 
Even  the  attitudes  of  the  body,  the  step,  the  place- 
ment of  a  limb,  the  set  of  the  head,  may  indicate 
the  state  of  the  mind  or  character  of  the  man. 
How  much  more  when  in  the  resurrection  the 
material  structure  shall  be  so  nearly  assimilated  to 
spirit !  How  transparent  to  spirit-light  it  may  be ! 
The  body  of  the  Lord  when  he  was  incarnate 
was  formed  as  ours  are  now.  But  in  the  trans- 
figuration his  countenance  became  as  the  sun,  and 
so  did  the  inner  effulgence  shine  through  all  the 
flesh  that  his  very  garment  became  "  exceedingly 
white,  so  as  no  fuller  could  whiten  it."  It  was 
radiantly  white — "  white  as  snow,"  as  the  new- 
fallen  virgin  snow  glowing  under  the  glare  of 
the  sun.  After  His  resurrection,  inspired  speech 
labored  in  vain  to  intimate  the  glories  of  His  per- 
son in  the  first  chapter  of  the  Apocalypse.  "  Like 
unto  His  glorious  body  "  shall  ours  be  fashioned, 

"And  every  shape  and  every  face 
Be  heavenly  and  divine." 

We  shall  be  thus  greatly  changed  in  the  resurrec- 
tion. Yet  shall  each  one  be  himself,  and  form  and 
feature  and  expression,  though  raised  to  heavenly 
beauty,  will  be  the  same  essentially  as  now.  Even 
in  this  life  we  have  witnessed  something  of  the 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  387 

same.  How  different  a  face  in  repose,  and  the 
same  in  the  rapture  of  some  moment  of  supreme 
joy !  Yet  it  is  the  very  same  face.  Identification 
is  easy.  I  have  seen  some  men  almost  trans- 
figured in  the  pulpit.  I  have  seen  Caples  so.  He 
was  the  very  same,  yet  how  changed !  Even  in 
the  Transfiguration  the  disciples  knew  the  Lord, 
They  did  not  for  a  moment  confound  Him  with 
Moses  or  Elias 

I  have  a  theory  that  every  human  form  and  face 
are  cast  upon  some  type  of  beauty.  Even  the 
adjustment  and  set  of  the  features  in  each  case 
are  upon  a  perfect  model.  In  many  instances  the 
ideal  is  far  from  being  realized.  Perhaps  it  is 
fully  realized  in  none.  The  depravities  of  our 
present  state  have  made  sad  work  with  many 
forms  and  faces.  But  we  are  u  waiting  for  the 
redemption  of  the  body."  When  that  shall  come 
each  one  shall  reach  the  exact  ideal  of  the  Creator. 
The  change  will  not  be  radical.  We  will  be  sur- 
prised to  find  what  slight  variation  of  the  lines  of 
the  face  will  bring  the  ugliest  into  perfect  beauty — 
realizing  the  ideal  of  its  type. 

Beauty  is  more  in  expression  than  in  feature. 
An  exalted  soul  coming  into  expression  in  the 
plainest  face  redeems  it.  I  have  often  seen  this. 
Some  notable  instances  are  in  my  mind  as  I  write. 
They  are  hints  to  me.  They  intimate  the  miracles 
of  beauty  that  will  be  realized  in  the  bodies  of 


888  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

the  saints  after  they  are  rescued  from  all  the  con- 
sequences of  sin,  made  "spiritual  bodies,"  and 
modeled  upon  the  glorious  form  of  our  risen  Lord. 
Mr.  Caples  lived  in  thfe  hope  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead.  When  his  father  died,  and  his 
mother,  he  expected  to  see  those  venerated  faces 
again.  When  he  surrendered  a  wife,  and  the  very 
children  of  his  body,  to  the  dishonors  of  death,  it 
was  with  the  assurance  that  they  would  be  tri- 
umphantly brought  forth  again  at  last  by  the 
Captain  of  our  Salvation.  In  those  dreadful  days 
when  his  own  mangled  body  was  sinking  down 
into  death  the  same  hope  cheered  and  consoled 
him.  And  now,  a  disembodied  spirit  in  the  highest 
glory  that  a  disembodied  spirit  is  capable  of,  he 

"Longs  perfection  to  inherit, 
And  to  triumph  in  the  flesh." 

He  watches  "the  sleeping  embers"  until  they 
"shall  rise  and  live  anew."  For  certainly  the 
consummation  of  the  work  of  Christ  is  not  reached 
short  of  the  resurrection.  The  dead  in  Christ  are 
happy  now.  They  go  to  Him  at  once.  Exactly 
what  their  state  is  we  can  not  know.  How  the 
faculties  may  find  exercise  in  the  absence  of  the 
physical  organs  created  to  be  their  instruments, 
we  can  learn  only  by  our  own  experience  after 
death.  But  that  it  is  an  imperfect  state,  though 
a  happy  one,  seems  certain.  The  faculties  are 
not  in  full  power  and  play.  Perhaps  the  blessed- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  389 

ness  enjoyed  before  the  resurrection  is  found 
largely  in  repose.  "  They  rest  from  their  labors." 
The  state  of  the  righteous  dead,  before  the  resur- 
rection, is  called  sleep.  "  They  that  sleep  in  Jesus 
shall  God  bring  with  Him"  in  the  last  day. 
There  is  sufficient  intimation  of  the  fact  that  they 
are  not  wholly  unconscious.  They  live.  They  are 
in  ineffable  peace.  But  it  seems  probable,  at 
least,  if  not  certain,  that  the  great  pursuits  of 
eternity  will  not  be  fairly  entered  upon  until  after 
the  resurrection  and  the  Judgment  Day.  Then 
the  spirit,  restored  to  the  conditions  for  which  it 
was  created,  furnished  again  with  proper  organs 
of  communication  and  action,  in  a  body  perfected 
by  divine  skill  and  power,  will  realize  the  sublime 
ideal  of  the  Creator  and  start  forth  to  achieve  and 
enjoy  what  God  intended. 

What  part  such  a  man  as  Caples  may  then  per- 
form, what  fruition  of  former  labor  done  in  time 
he  may  then  enjoy,  we  will  see  if  we  are  faithful. 
"With  what  power  he  may  deliver  himself  upon 
the  forces  of  that  high  condition,  how  far  he  may 
give  shape  and  type  to  the  celestial  phenomena 
surrounding  him,  we  must  wait  to  know.  I  make 
no  doubt  that  I  shall  see  him  moving  forward 
upon  a  magnificent  course  of  destiny,  pursuing 
plans  and  working  upon  methods  that  will  require 
eternity  for  their  consummation,  and  be  great 
among  the  grandeurs  of  the  City  of  God. 


390  LIFE    OF    CAPLES. 

My  conceptions  of  the  heavenly  state  have  been 
greatly  modified  since  I  commenced  the  Christian 
course.  Then  the  poetic  descriptions  of  the  Apoca- 
lypsf  constituted  the  medium  through  which  I 
viewed  it.  The  physical  features  of  heaven  pre- 
dominated'. The  walls,  great  and  high ;  the  Throne; 
the  sea  of  glass ;  the  streets,  paved  with  gold ;  the 
river  of  life,  flowing  through  groves  of  the  tree  of 
life ;  the  music,  like  the  sound  of  many  waters ; 
the  heavenly  inhabitants,  clothed  in  fine  linen, 
clean  and  white — these  constituted  at  that  time 
the  staple  of  thought  in  contemplating  the  future 
home  of  the  people  of  God.  And  the  thought  of 
them  is  no  less  enchanting  now.  The  outward 
beauty  of  heaven  will  be  the  source  of  untold  de- 
light. The  place  has  been  prepared.  Creative 
wisdom  appears  there  in  its  highest  expression. 
Think  of  the  magnificence  of  the  city  in  which 
the  very  foundations  of  its  walls — the  meanest 
stones — are  emerald,  jacinth  and  topaz. 

But  glorious  as  heaven  is,  viewed  in  its  external 
splendors,  this  is  the  lowest  conception  of  it. 
The  true  glory  of  it  is  found  in  the  nature  we 
shall  inherit  and  in  our  near  access  to  God.  The 
great  thing  is  not  wJiere  we  shall  be,  but  what  we 
shall  be.  Washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  we 
shall  appear  before  the  presence  of  God's  glory 
faultless,  without  spot,  or  blemish,  or  any  such 
thing.  Heaven  is  chiefly  subjective. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  391 

"  Beloved,  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall 
be,  but  we  know  that  when  He  shall  appear  WE 
SHALL  BE  LIKE  HIM,  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He 
is."  This  likeness  to  Christ  will  be  physical,  in- 
tellectual and  spiritual.  If  we  are  indeed  conse- 
crated to  God,  we  are  even  now  being  transformed 
into  the  very  image  of  the  divine  humanity — into 
the  image  of  Christ.  "It  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  shall  be."  Our  most  adventurous  imagin- 
ing comes  far  short  of  it.  Such  passages  as  this 
give  me  my  highest  hopes  of  the  eternal  state 
now.  I  linger  not  so  much  upon  the  enchanting 
visions  of  external  glory.  It  is  not  so  much  a 
glorious  state  as  glorified  'being  that  attracts  me. 

"Now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly,  then 
we  shall  see  face  to  face ;  now  I  know  in  part,  then 
shall  I  know  even  as  also  I  am  known."  What  a 
high  subjective  condition  is  here  intimated!  A 
man  face  to  face  with  God,  unrebuked,  unfearing. 
To  know  as  we  are  known,  even  as  God  knows  us ! 
Perhaps  a  pure  spirit  realizes  the  imperfections 
of  time  no  more  oppressively  now  than  in  the  fact 
of  ignorance.  We  know  so  little.  There  is  so 
much  lying  at  our  very  feet  touching  upon  our 
own  being  and  destiny,  involving  the  Divine  ad- 
ministration— so  much  that  is  vital  to  us — that 
we  can  not  know.  There  is,  indeed,  a  deep-felt 
blessedness  in  trusting  and  walking  by  faith. 
But  it  will  be  a  joy  to  know  when  the  key  of 


392  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

knowledge  is  at  last  put  into  our  hands.  Then 
we  shall  see  all  the  ways  of  God  in  the  light  of 
His  own  wisdom  and  love. 

Not  only  the  government  of  God  and  the 
mysteries  of  life  will  be  laid  bare  to  us,  but  the 
physical  universe  in  all  its  laws  and  forces  will  be 
comprehended  and  express  to  us  the  very  nature 
of  the  Creator.  With  such  bodies  as  we  shall 
then  have  the  tour  of  the  universe  will  be  no  task. 
The  exploration  of  a  world  will  be  the  recreative 
occupation  of  an  hour.  The  most  complex  rela- 
tions and  subtlest  movements  will  be  understood 
at  once,  and  the  sweep  of  worlds  and  the  history 
of  ages  grasped  without  an  effort. 

Holiness  is  the  supreme  fact  of  the  heavenly 
state.  Second  to  it  is  knowledge.  The  incident 
of  both  is  happiness. 

All  men  desire  to  reach  heaven  at  last,  but  most 
of  them,  I  fear,  under  a  mistake  as  to  the  thing 
of  which  they  think.  To  them  heaven  and  happi- 
ness mean  the  same  thing.  Of  the  essential  fact 
in  the  heavenly  life  they  never  think.  Let  it  never 
be  forgotten  that  that  fact  is  holiness.  "  Without 
holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord''1  "Except  a 
man  be  born  again  he  can  not  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God."  "  What  are  these  that  are  arrayed 
in  white  robes,  and  whence  came  they?  These 
are  they  who  came  out  of  great  tribulation  and 
have  washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  393 

the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  Let  no  man  in  an  unre- 
generate  state,  living  in  sin,  indulging  his  pride 
and  lust  and  passion ;  no  mercenary  man ;  no  lover 
of  pleasures  more  than  God ;  no  man  who  lives  to 
the  flesh  and  not  to  God,  dream  of  heaven  at  last. 
From  such  a  dream  he  must  wake  up  in  torment. 
Heaven  is  found  in  a  holy  nature.  Holiness  is  of 
the  essence  of  heaven,  and  happiness  an  essential 
incident  of  holiness. 

But  the  creature,  even  when  holy,  is  not  self- 
sufficing.  The  blessedness  of  the  state  of  such  is 
not  in  the  mere  fact  of  holiness,  but  in  the  relation 
into  which  this  brings  them  toward  God ;  in  the 
communion  with  Him  which  it  secures.  He  alone 
is  sufficing  to  the  soul.  He  is  all  in  all.  There 
could  be  no  heaven  without  His  presence ;  with  it 
heaven  is  complete. 

"  The  smile  of  the  Lord  is  the  feast  of  the  soul." 
To  the  Christian  God  is  everything.  His  approba- 
tion is  life,  His  frown  is  death.  To  know  Him,  to 
feel  the  baptism  of  His  presence,  to  receive,  con- 
sciously, His  love,  is  to  realize  the  end  of  being. 

But  in  His  love  we  love  also  His  followers. 
Fellowship  of  saints  is  a  source  of  pure  and  exalted 
happiness.  The  hope  of  meeting  the  loved  dead 
is  a  worthy  and  holy  sentiment.  To  be  sure,  the 
relations  of  time  will  not  subsist  in  the  world  to 
come.  There  "  they  neither  marry  nor  are  given 
in  marriage."  There  are  no  blood  ties  there.  The 


394  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

affinities  of  that  life  are  purely  spiritual.  Yet  I 
can  not  question  that  friendships  begun  in  Christ 
on  earth  will  ripen  under  His  smile  in  heaven. 
The  husband  and  wife  who  were  related  to  each 
other  by  faith  here,  in  a  common  spiritual  life, 
will,  not  from  natural,  but  from  divine  affections, 
be  especially  dear  to  each  other  in  heaven.  They 
passed  through  the  Christian  warfare  together 
and  their  souls  are  knit  in  Christ.  These  soul 
affinities  will  survive  and  be  deepened  when  all 
the  loves  that  sprang  from  a  carnal  source  alone 
shall  perish.  Thus  many  a  friendship,  incipient 
here,  will  be  perpetuated  amid  the  high  associa- 
tions of  eternity.  Who  can  doubt  that  heaven 
will  be  hightened  by  this  fact. 

At  least  it  seems  nearer  to  us  now  that  Caples 
has  gone  up.  It  peems  brighter,  too.  His  pres- 
ence is  another  attraction,  even  of  that  holy  place. 
He  is  our  brother  still.  We  bore  the  cross  together. 
He  remembers  us  with  a  deeper  love. 

Will  he  not  meet  us  at  the  bank,  on  the  other 
side,  when  we  cross  the  river?  Will  he  not  lead 
us  through  the  gates  into  the  city  ?  Will  he  not 
guide  us  in  the  unknown  pathways  ?  Will  he  not 
conduct  us  into  the  presence-chamber  of  the  King  ? 

We  shall  hear  his  voice  again,  deeper,  richer, 
fuller  than  it  was  on  earth.  It  was  already  prac- 
ticed in  the  strains  of  worship  when  he  ascended. 
What  a  vehicle  of  praise  it  was  even  here !  There 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  395 

it  will  melt  into  the  melodies  of  the  new  song  so 
richly  that  an  angel  might  pause  to  hear  it. 

We  shall  see  his  face.  It  will  be  radiant  with 
the  light  of  the  soul.  We  shall  know  him.  Re- 
cognition will  be  instant  and  perfect.  That  face ! 
O !  it  will  be  joy  to  see  it  again,  and  to  see  it 
there  ;  to  see  it  in  perfected  beauty. 

The  voice  and  face  will  be  restored  to  us  by  the 
resurrection.  Not  until  that  morning  will  the 
fullness  be  realized.  We  shall  meet  him  when 
we  cross  the  river.  But  we  must  all  await  perfec- 
tion until  the  redemption  of  the  body  shall  com- 
plete the  work  of  Christ,  and  His  people  together 
shall  be  gathered  in.  Then  shall  the  heavenly 
Bridegroom  take  home  His  bride,  and  at  the  mar- 
riage supper  we  shall  see  the  face  and  hear  the 
voice  of  our  departed  brother. 

A  noble  company  will  be  there  from  the  old 
Missouri  Conference.  May  we  all  follow  them  as 
they  followed  Christ!  May  we  join  them  in  that 
day  when  the  "  Lord  Himself  shall  descend  from 
heaven  with  a  shout,  with  the  voice  of  the  arch- 
angel and  the  trump  of  God." 

"  Lo !  it  comes,  that  day  of  wonder ; 

Louder  chorals  shake  the  skies: 
Hades'  gates  are  burst  asunder ; 

See  !    the  new-clothed  myriads  rise. 
Thought,  repress  thy  weak'endeavor, 

Here  must  reason  prostrate  fall ; 
O,  the  ineffable  forever, 

And  the  eternal  ALL  IN  ALL  !  " 


396  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE  LAW  OF  THE  TITHE — TWO  LECTURES. 

After  the  greater  part  of  this  book  was  written 
Rev.  W.  P.  Caples  found,  unexpectedly,  and  for- 
warded to  me,  the  manuscript  of  his  father's  two 
lectures  on  The  Law  of  the  Tithe.  Not  only  will 
his  old  friends  be  gratified  by  their  publication, 
but  I  trust  also  that  great  good  may  be  done 
thereby. 

I  find  that  my  memory  was  at  fault  in  one  par- 
ticular with  regard  to  his  views  on  this  subject. 
My  impression  was  that  he  taught  that  the  tenth 
in  each  Church  was  to  be  paid  for  the  support  of 
its  own  pastor.  I  remembered  distinctly  that  he 
excluded  the  support  of  the  poor  and  all  general 
charities  from  a  claim  upon  the  tithe,  and  it  was 
in  my  mind  that  missions  were  also  put  into  the 
list  of  charities  to  depend  on  voluntary  contribu- 
tion. But  I  see  that,  according  to  his  view,  all 
that  preach  the  Gospel  are  to  live  by  the  Tithe. 

The  theory  is  this :    The  tenth  of  property,  as 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  397 

the  seventh  of  time,  is  the  LorcUs.  This  tenth 
part  of  property,  or  of  income  more  properly, 
which  God  demands  as  His  own,  to  remind  us  of 
His  absolute  proprietorship  of  us  and  ours,  He 
has  appropriated  to  the  support  of  that  class  of 
men  whom  He  calls  away  from  secular  pursuits  to 
serve  Him  in  the  ministry.  The  law,  faithfully 
observed  by  all,  rich  and  poor,  would  be  ample 
for  the  support  of  the  home  ministry  and  to  carry 
on  a  grand  system  of  evangelizing  agencies  abroad. 
The  tenth  is  the  Lord's,  and  those  whose  time  He 
demands  exclusively  in  spiritual  labor  are  to  be 
fed  out  of  this  fund. 

There  has  been  a  suggestion  made  to  me  that 
the  publication  of  these  Lectures  would  not  do 
justice  to  Mr.  Caples — that  they  are  not  a  fair 
representation  of  the  man.  One  brother  thought 
they  had  better  not  be  published ;  another  sug- 
gested that  I  should  rewrite  them  and  edit  them 
freely.  But  I  have  determined  to  publish  them, 
and  that  as  he  wrote  them,  with  only  such  correc- 
tions of  orthography  and  punctuation  as  were 
necessary.  A  few  other  corrections  have  been 
made  (very  few),  such  as  I  am  sure  would  have 
been  made  by  himself  if  lie  had  carefully  revised 
the  manuscript. 

But  in  publishing  these  Lectures  it  is  only  right 
to  say  that  Mr.  Caples  was  no  writer.  He  had 
never  practiced  writing.  He  never  wrote  sermons. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLBS. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  these  compositions  are  the 
longest  he  ever  wrote.  Every  one  who  has  any 
experience  knows  how  essential  practice  is  to 
success  in  writing.  Let  it  be  understood,  then, 
that  these  Lectures  are  mere  apprentice  work,  and 
are  not  at  all  on  paper  what  they  were  as  he  de- 
livered them  from  the  pulpit.  They  contain  "but 
the  material  out  of  which  the  sermons  were  made. 
For,  although  these  are  in  the  form  of  lectures,  he 
often  preached  on  the  subject  with  great  effect. 

While  these  productions  give  no  adequate  idea 
of  the  power  of  their  author,  they  do  equal  injus- 
tice to  his  style.  Unaccustomed  to  the  pen,  he 
could  not,  it  seems,  attain  to  that  elevation  which 
he  maintained  in  the  pulpit  His  sentences  here 
are  rather  heavy  and  clumsy.  I  have  heretofore 
noticed  the  fact  that  in  his  heavier  moods  in  the 
pulpit  his  style  betrayed  the  want  of  early  culti- 
vation. But  when  he  was  well  sprung  his  sen- 
tences were  grand,  and  not  wanting  in  elegance. 
The  following  specimen  of  his  writing  reminds 
me  of  him  when  his  mind  was  dull  in  the  pulpit. 

Yet  the  Lectures  show  a  great  mind.  There  is 
much  solid  thought  in  them,  and  I  am  by  no 
means  ashamed  to  give  them  to  the  public.  They 
are  upon  an  important  theme,  and  T  will  venture 
to  say  that  any  man  would  find  it  a  difficult  task 
to  answer  his  arguments.  It  seems  clear  to  me 
that  the  Law  of  the  Tithe  does  not  belong  to  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  399 

Levitical  code,  any  more  than  that  of  the  Sabbath. 
It  has  its  root  in  essential,  divine  claims. 

I  trust  the  publication  of  Mr.  Caples'  views  at 
this  time  will  wake  up  inquiry,  and  that  the 
Church  at  large  may  come  to  feel  this  law  to  be 
binding  on  conscience  now  as  it  was  in  the  Old 
Testament  times.  I  can  not  doubt  that  great 
grace  would  be  on  all  in  that  event.  Even  worldly 
affairs  would  be  lifted  out  of  their  insignificance, 
and  labor  would  learn  to  connect  itself  with  the 
saving  import  of  the  Cross. 

A  poor  man  works  hard,  gets  poor  wages  and 
has  his  family  to  support.  He  feels  that  there  is 
nothing  left  for  God.  The  merchant  gets  a  share 
of  it,  and  the  shoemaker,  and  the  butcher,  and 
the  teacher,  and  the  doctor,  but  God  never  gets 
His  share.  He  never  sues  for  His  part,  which,  by 
a  law  always  in  force,  is  the  tenth.  The  man 
will  die  greatly  in  debt  to  his  Maker.  And  while 
he  lives  his  life  is  devoted  to  unblest  labor.  The 
Law  of  the  Tithe  may  seem  hard  to  him,  but  in 
fact  he  would  find  that  God  has  ordered  all  things 
graciously,  as  well  as  wisely,  if  he  would  only 
conform  to  His  law.  Many  a  baffled  life  in  this 
world  would  have  been  blest  if  the  Creator's  right 
over  our  property  had  been  conscientiously  and 
systematically  recognized. 

I  commend  these  Lectures  to  the  prayerful  con- 
sideration and  2;ood  sense  of  the  Church. 


400  LIFE    OF    CAPLE8. 

LECTURE    I. 

The  fact  of  the  existence  of  God  is  the  great 
fact,  the  first  in  grandeur  and  importance ;  and  all 
correct  thought  of  Him  is  exalting.  In  all  true 
science  He  is  the  great  first  cause  and  universal 
ruler.  In  all  true  religion  "  He  filleth  all  in  all." 
To  deny  Him  in  His  relations  to  us  is  to  avow  our 
depravity ;  to  forget  Him  in  anything  is  to  evidence 
the  weakness  of  our  piety.  Both  in  science  and  in 
religion  He  is  the  absolute  and  universal  Sovereign. 
With  this  recognition  of  God  it  is  not  only  wise 
in  the  sense  of  policy  or  prudence,  but  our  boun- 
deri  duty  in  all  tilings  to  obey  Him ;  and  true  obedi- 
ence recognizes  His  absolute  proprietorship  in  all 
things.  There  is  no  just  recognition  of  the  Sab- 
bath except  upon  the  ground  that  all  time  is  His, 
and  by  us  possessed  as  his  bounty,  and  that,  con- 
sequently, it  is  His  right  to  say  how  we  shall 
employ  it ;  and  that  He  does  require  us  to  keep 
one-seventh  of  it  holy.  Any  appropriation  of 
property  to  His  glory  presupposes  His  ownership 
of  all,  and  a  declaration  of  His  will  as  to  the  use 
to  be  made  of  it ;  otherwise  there  is  no  piety  in 
the  act.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  say  to  all  Christians 
that  the  God  of  the  Bible  claims  absolute  proprie- 
torship in  all  property.  "  All  the  earth  is  mine." 
"  The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fullness  thereof." 
"  Sanctify  unto  me  all  the  first  born,  both  of  man 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  401 

and  beast — it  is  mine"  And  of  the  land  of  cove- 
nant— the  land  to  be  reached  by  toilsome  travel 
and  possessed  by  hard-fought  battles — "  the  land 
shall  not  be  sold  forever,  for  the  land  is  mine." 
"  Every  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine,  and  the  cattle 
upon  a  thousand  hills,"  "  The  silver  is  mine,  and 
the  gold  is  mine,"  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ;  "  all 
souls  are  mine."  Who  will  dare  contest,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  this  claim  with  his  Maker?  The 
Almighty  not  only  asserts  this  claim  theoretically, 
but  practically.  Does  He  require  men  for  His 
ministry  ?  His  demands  are  :  "  Leave  all  and 
follow  me,"  and  His  claim  is  honored  when  nets, 
and  boats,  or  office,  houses  or  lands  are  forsaken. 
Again  he  asserts  this  right  when  he  says  to  the 
young  man,  "  Go,  sell  what  thou  hast  and  give  to 
the  poor."  And  His  claim  is  practically  dishon- 
ored when  the  young  man  goes  away  sorrowful. 
Would  you  know  the  extent  to  which  this  claim 
of  God  is  held  ?  Read  and  study  with  care  the 
Parable  of  the  Talents  recorded  in  the  25th  chap- 
ter of  the  Gospel  by  St.  Matthew.  Observe,  the 
servants  and  the  goods  both  belong  to  Him  ;  and 
although  he  bestows  upon  the  servants  the  goods, 
and  the  use  or  abuse  of  them  is  for  the  time  left 
to  their  agency,  yet  the  right  is  in  Him.  He  gives 
direction  as  to  their  use  and  improvement,  and 
holds  each  to  an  account  accordingly.  From  all 

these  and  many  more  passages  in  the  holy  Scrip- 
26 


402  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

tures  we  conclude  that  although  man  has  right  of 
property  toward  his  fellow  man,  he  has  and  can 
have  none  toward  his  Maker.  All  we  can  claim 
is,  that  we  are  the  Lord's  stewards.  We  can  not 
"be  more  in  relation  to  property,  and  soon,  very 
soon,  He  will  say  to  each  of  us,  give  an  account 
of  thy  stewardship. 

Without  any  further  examination  of  this  sub- 
ject we  might  very  reasonably  premise  that  God 
requires  of  us  some  practical  acknowledgement 
of  Himself  as  the  rightful  owner  of  our  property, 
especially  in  view  of  our  proneness  to  claim 
independence  in  its  possession  and  control,  and 
the  sordid  selfishness  engendered  by  such  assumed 
independence,  together  with  an  intense  love  of 
riches  for  their  own  sake,  which  dries  up  every  re- 
freshing fountain  of  benevolence,  casts  gloomy 
shadows  over  every  endearment  of  social  life,  and 
withers  all  that  is  lovely  in  the  soul  of  him  that  in- 
dulges it,  as  well  as  the  happiness  of  those  in  any 
way  dependent  upon  him.  But  when  we  find  a 
law  given  to  man,  as  man,  to  remind  him  that  God 
is  the  author  of  time,  and  that  to  him  it  is  a  gift, 
and  that  in  its  enjoyment  he  is  dependent — the  law 
of  the  Sabbath  demanding  at  his  hand  a  practical 
acknowledgement  of  his  obligation  to  God  in  this, 
regard — it  would  appear  strange  indeed  if  God  had 
given  us  no  law  in  obedience  to  which  we  might 
acknowledge  his  right  in  our  property  and  secure 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  403 

to  ourselves  the  constant  recognition  of  our  stew- 
ardship. So  strong  is  this  presumption  and  so 
explicit  are  the  Scriptures  of  the  Testaments  of 
God  in  regard  to  it,  that  all  Christians  recognize, 
in  some  form  or  other,  to  some  extent  at  least,  the 
right  of  God  in  their  property.  Nor  will  it  be 
contended  that  the  command  of  God,  as  given  in 
Prov.  iii.  9,  "  Honor  the  Lord  with  thy  substance 
and  the  first  fruits  of  all  thine  increase,"  has  be- 
come obsolete.  Yet,  perhaps,  the  majority  of 
Christians  will  contend  that  the  Almighty  Giver 
has  left  the  amount  to  be  given,  as  well  as  the 
objects  for  which  it  is  to  be  given,  to  be  determined 
by  each  man's  sense  of  propriety  and  the  dictates 
of  his  own  conscience.  I  will  leave  it  to  the  ob- 
servation of  my  auditors  to  say  whether  multitudes 
acting  on  this  supposition  are  not  making  to  the 
Church  and  the  world  humiliating  concessions  on 
the  obtuseness  of  their  sense  of  proprietj7  and  the 
imbecility  of  the  dictates  of  their  consciences.  I 
grant  there  are  many  objects  of  benevolence 
brought  to  view  in  the  Scriptures  wherein  God 
leaves  us  to  determine  what  amount  we  will  give, 
and  in  all  such  cases  he  brings  forward  the  most 
powerful  motives  to  battle  with  our  cupidity. 
Take  the  following  as  examples :  "  He  that  giveth 
to  the  poor  lendeth  to  the  Lord  and  He  will  repay 
him  again."  "  Blessed  is  he  that  considereth  the 
poor ;  the  Lord  will  deliver  him  in  time  of  trouble." 


404  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

"  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  these  my 
servants  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  More  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  times  in  the  blessed  Bible 
does  God  warn  his  stewards  not  to  oppress  but  to 
remember  the  poor — to  use  the  substance  he  has 
given  us  to  relieve  their  distresses.  The  measure 
of  our  contributions  must  be  determined  by  the 
necessities  of  the  case  and  our  ability  to  help  in 
view  of  the  incentives  set  before  us.  Again,  when 
Moses  was  about  to  build  the  tabernacle — a  work 
of  piety,  for  which  God  gave  command — it  was  in 
this  wise  (Ex.  xxv.  2) :  "  Speak  unto  the  children 
of  Israel  that  they  bring  me  an  offering.  Of 
every  man  that  giveth  it  willingly  with  his  heart 
ye  shall  take  my  offering."  The  extent  of  the 
offering  and  its  acceptability,  in  this  instance,  is 
determined  by  the  willingness,  the  hearty  willing- 
ness, of  the  offerer,  for  Moses  must  not  accept  it 
for  the  Lord  unless  it  be  given  with  the  heart. 
And  again,  when  David  would  prepare  material 
for  building  the  temple  (see  I  Chron.  29th  chapter): 
"  And  who  then  is  willing  to  consecrate  his  service 
this  day  unto  the  Lord  ?  Then  they  offered  wil- 
lingly. The  people  rejoiced  for  that  they  offered 
willingly,  because  with  a  perfect  heart  they  offered 
willingly  unto  the  Lord;  and  David,  the  king,  also 
rejoiced  with  great  joy ;  and  in  this  joy  he  blessed 
the  Lord,  saying,  Thine,  O  Lord,  is  the  greatness, 
and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  and  the  victory,  and 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES. 

the  majesty,  for  all  that  is  in  the  heaven  and  in 
tlie  eartJi  is  Thine ;  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  O  Lord, 
and  Thou  art  exalted  as  head  albove  all.    Both 
riches  and  honor  come  of  Thee.     But  who  am  I, 
and  what  is  my  people,  that  we  should  be  able  to 
offer  so  willingly  after  this  sort?   for  all  things 
come  of  Thee,  and  of  Thine  own  have  we  given 
Thee."   Here  we  find  every  principle  stated  above 
entering  into — yes,  constituting — the  piety  of  these 
offerings.    For  the  poor,  for  the  erection  of  places 
of  worship  and  public  instruction,  in  all  the  ben- 
evolence which  God  enjoins  that  has  direct  respect 
to  our  fellow  man,  we  are  left  to  determine  the 
amount,  and  the  act  is  acceptable  to  God  in  pro- 
portion  as  it  regards   His   revealed  will  as  the 
supreme  law  and  our  willing  hearts  enter  into  it. 
"If  there  be  first  a  willing  mind,  it  is  accepted 
according  to  that  a  man  hath."     This  use  of  the 
property  God  has  given  us  is  a  test  of  our  grati- 
tude to  Him  as  the  giver,  and  His  beneficence  to 
us  is  made  the  model  after  which  we  should  pat- 
tern.    "  Be  ye  therefore  merciful  as  your  father 
also  is  merciful ;"  and  the  ability  which  He  has 
given  us,  as  well  as  the  necessities  of  the  case, 
will  guide  us  in  the  measure  of  our  responsibility. 
If  "freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give."     "Let 
every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week  as  the  Lord  hath  prospered  him." 
"Every  man  according  as  he  purposeth  in  his 


406  LIFE     OF     OAPLE8. 

heart,  so  let  him  give,  not  grudgingly  or  of  neces 
sity,  for  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver."  It  is  thus, 
in  part  at  least,  that  we  are  to  "  honor  God  with 
our  substance."  We  merely  suggest  whether  there 
are  not  thousands  who  make  contributions  and 
call  it  honoring  God  with  their  substance  on  a 
scale  that  would  be  an  insult  to  a  common  pauper. 
And  will  not  God  be  avenged  for  these  things  ? 
Yea,  verily,  for  He  has  characterized  it  as  rob- 
bery— the  basest  of  robbery — a  robbery  of  God — 
and  charged  the  guilt  of  it  upon  ancient  Israel. 
"  Ye  have  robbed  me  of  offerings."  This  entire 
class  of  Chiistian  charities  is  called  offerings; 
and  because  the  per  cent,  or  proportion  of  the 
property  possessed  that  is  to  be  thus  appropriated 
is  not  definitely  fixed  by  law,  they  are  sometimes 
called  free  will  offerings,  votive  offerings,  gifts, 
alms,  etc.  We  are  not  to  conclude,  however,  that 
because  God  has  left  us  a  margin  in  these  duties 
for  the  exercise  of  our  free  will,  and  the  expression 
of  gratitude  toward  Him,  and  our  sympathy  for 
our  fellows,  that  He  made  no  definite  law  to  direct 
us  in  regard  to  the  use  of  any  part  of  our  property. 
He  who  has  said  so  definitely,  "  Remember  the 
Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy ;  six  days  shalt  thou 
labor  and  do  all  thy  work,  but  the  seventh  is  the 
Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  in  it  thou  shalt  do 
no  work,"  would  not  likely  bestow  his  goods  upon 
his  servants  without  some  positive  law  to  remind 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  •        407 

them  that  He  is  the  proprietor  of  them.  The  ne- 
cessities of  the  governed  require  a  positive  and 
definite  law  at  this  point,  and  just  such  a  law  we 
find  recorded  in  Lev.  xxvii.  30  :  "  All  the  tithe  of 
the  land,  whether  of  the  seed  of  the  land  or  of 
the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord's ;  it  is  holy  unto 
the  Lord."  And  we  remark  of  the  law  of  the 
tenth,  thus  explicitly  stated,  that  it  is  not  an  ordi- 
nance to  meet  the  peculiar  wants  of  the  times  nor 
the  special  circumstances  of  the  people  to  whom 
it  was  thus  published.  Indeed,  it  is  but  the  an- 
nouncement of  a  previously  existing  law — a  law, 
as  we  are  called  upon  to  show,  made  far  man  as 
lie  is  man,  not  as  he  is  a  Patriarch,  or  Jew,  or 
Christian,  to  the  exclusion  of  others,  but  as  he  is 
man,  just  as  Christ  says  of  the  Sabbath,  "The 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the 
Sabbath."  It  is  worthy  of  special  notice  that  the 
positive  law  of  God  claiming  a  tenth  of  property 
as  his  own  is  introduced  by  Moses  into  the  written 
law  precisely  in  the  same  form  in  which  he  intro- 
duces the  law  of  the  Sabbath  :  "  The  tithe  is  the 
Lord's."  "  To-morrow  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord." 
In  both  instances  it  is  the  recognition  of  a  law 
already  in  force,  and  not  the  enactment  of  a  new 
statute.  But  it  may  be  more  satisfactory,  how- 
ever, to  trace  the  history  of  this  law  a  little  further 
back,  for  if  we  can  be  assured  that  it  was  a  law  in 
force  anterior  to  the  giving  of  the  law  by  Moses, 


408  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

recognized  and  observed  by  the  Patriarchs,  then  it 
will  follow  that  it  is  not  merely  a  part  of  the 
ceremonial  law,  and  does  not,  consequently,  with 
it,  vanish  away.  Nor  are  we  to  conclude  that, 
unless  we  find  some  earlier  record  than  the  one 
above  cited,  it  did  not  previously  exist  as  a  divine 
requirement.  We  might  ask,  where  is  the  earliest 
recorded  command  for  animal  sacrifice  ?  It  may 
justly  be  answered,  that  God's  acceptance  of 
Abel's  offering  is  proof  sufficient  that  he  required 
this  at  his  hand.  The  reasoning  of  Archbishop 
Magee,  in  his  work  on  "  The  Atonement,"  in  sup- 
port of  the  divine  origin  of  sacrifices,  it  will  be 
found,  holds  equally  good  on  the  subject  before 
us.  Hence  we  quote  them : 

"  That  the  institution  was  of  divine  ordinance 
may,  in  the  first  instance,  be  reasonably  inferred 
from  the  strong  and  sensible  attestation  of  the 
divine  acceptance  in  the  case  of  Abel,  again  in 
that  of  Noah,  afterward  withal  of  Abraham,  and 
also  by  the  systematic  establishment  of  them  by 
the  same  divine  authority  in  the  dispensation  of 
Moses." 

Let  us  examine  for  a  moment  this  case  of  Abel's 
offering,  and  Cain's,  too,  if  you  please.  "  Cain 
brought  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground  an  offering." 
If  we  may  trust  the  criticism  of  Dr.  Adam  Clarke, 
the  Hebrew  word  used  means,  as  explained  in 
Lev.  ii.  1,  etc.,  an  offering  of  fine  flour  with  oil  and 


LIFE    OF    CAPLE8.  409 

frankincense.  "It  was  merely,"  says  the  same 
author,  "  an  eucliaristic,  or  gratitude  offering,  and 
is  simply  what  is  implied  in  the  fruits  of  the 
ground,  "brought  by  Cain  to  the  Lord,  by  which  he 
testified  his  belief  in  Him  as  the  Lord  of  the 
universe  and  the  dispenser  of  secular  blessings." 
"  Abel  also  brought  of  the  firstlings  of  his  flock." 
Hear  Dr.  Clarke  again.  He  says :  "  Dr.  Kennicott 
contends,  and  I  am  of  the  same  opinion,  that  the 
words  he  also  brought  should  be  translated  Abel 
brought  it  also — i.  e.,  a  gratitude  offering,  and  be- 
side this,  etc. ;  and  St.  Paul  supports  this  view 
when  he  says  God  testifying  with  his  gifts,  which 
certainly  shows  that  he  brought  more  than  one." 
Now,  if  God's  acceptance  of  his  sin  offering  is 
sufficient  to  prove  a  law  requiring  it,  why,  we  urge, 
does  not  the  acceptance  of  his  thank  (or  tithe) 
offering  show  a  law  requiring  this  also  ?  And  if  any 
should  inquire,  why,  then,  was  not  Cain's  accepted, 
seeing  he  respected  the  law  ?  we  might  retort,  if 
there  were  no  law  why  did  he. offer  at  all?  The 
reason  of  his  rejection  is  very  apparent.  While 
he  did  well  in  acknowledging  the  right  of  God  in 
his  property  he  ignored  the  fact  of  his  sinfulness 
in  the  sight  of  God,  and,  consequently,  all  faith  in 
the  promise  of  a  Redeemer.  "  If  thou  doest  well," 
or,  as  rendered  by  another,  if  thou  art  righteous, 
this  thy  offering  is  acceptable;  but  if  not,  this 
offering  does  not  look  for  forgiveness,  makes  no 


410  LIFE     OF     C  A  P  L  E  8  . 

confession  of  sin,  and,  consequently,  can  not  be 
acceptable.  Your  sin  still  lieth  at  the  door.  Or 
if  thou  wilt  do  well  in  order  to  acceptance,  meet- 
ing my  requirements- of  you  as  a  sinner  (it  is  within 
your  power  to  do  so)  (according  to  Dr.  Clarke),  a 
sin  offering  lieth  at  the  door  (of  your  fold)  or  is  at 
hand.  From  these  cases  of  acceptance  and  rejec- 
tion, with  the  reason  given  by  God  himself  for  the 
rejection  of  the  one  and  the  acceptance  of  the 
other,  it  is  quite  as  apparent  that  God  required  an 
acknowledgement  of  His  sovereignty  over  the 
property  he  gave  man  as  that  he  is  the  author  of 
animal  sacrifice ;  and  if  any  of  my  hearers  doubt 
the  pertinency  of  this  case  because  the  tenth  is 
not  stated  to  be  the  amount  required,  I  answer, 
neither  may  we  infer  from  it  that  it  was  not ;  but 
we  hope  to  show  from  other  parts  of  the  history 
of  this  law  that  a  tenth  was  required  and  offered 
with  acceptance  before  the  days  of  Moses ;  and  for 
this  purpose  I  will  now  introduce  a  case — a  very 
noted  case — of  the  recognition  of  the  law,  after- 
ward recorded  by  Moses.  The  case  we  refer  to 
is  stated  briefly,  but  with  great  precision,  in  the 
14th  chapter  of  Genesis.  The  points  to  which 
special  attention  is  desired  may  be  stated  thus : 
Chedorlaomer  and  his  confederate  kings  make 
war  on  the  King  of  Sodom  and  his  associates  and 
prevail  in  battle.  The  victors  seize  upon  the  per- 
sons and  goods  of  the  vanquished  and  start  with 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  411 

them  to  their  country.  Abram,  hearing  of  the 
capture  of  his  nephew,  arms  his  trained  servants, 
in  number  three  hundred  and  eighteen,  and  pursues 
them  unto  Dan,  smote  them,  and  recovered  all  the 
goods  and  the  captives.  Here  let  it  be  noted  that 
all  these  goods  were  legally  Abram's  property. 
The  King  of  Sodom  met  him  on  his  return,  in  the 
valley  of  Shaveh,  and  Melchizedek,  King  of  Salem, 
brought  forth  bread  and  wine.  Note  with  what 
emphasis  it  is  stated:  "And  he  was  the  priest  of 
the  most  liigli  God,  and  he  blessed  him  and  said, 
Blessed  be  Abram  of  the  most  high  God,  possessor 
of  heaven  and  earth,  etc.,  and  he  (Abram)  gave 
him  tithes  of  all.  And  the  King  of  Sodom  said 
unto  Abram,  give  me  the  persons  and  take  the 
goods  to  thyself.  And  Abram  said  to  the  King 
of  Sodom,  I  have  lifted  up  my  hand  unto  the  Lord, 
the  most  high  God,  the  possessor  of  heaven  and 
earth,  that  I  will  not  take  from  a  thread  even  to  a 
shoe-latchet."  And  why?  "  Lest  thou  shouldst  say 
I  have  made  Abram  rich."  Might  not  the  King 
of  Sodom  ask,  why,  then,  did  you  give  a  tenth  of 
all  to  the  King  of  Salem  ?  Will  Abram  make  a 
present  to  a  king  with  this  oath  upon  him  ?  Alms 
it  could  not  have  been.  But  he  asks  no  such 
question.  He  knew  well  there  was  a  divine  law 
which  the  piety  of  Abram  would  prompt  him  to 
keep,  and  had  he  not  heard  the  great  truth  upon 
which  that  law  was  founded  and  the  remembrance 


412  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

of  which  it  was  intended  to  perpetuate,  stated 
both  by  the  priest  of  God  in  his  blessing  and 
Abram  in  his  oath,  that  the  most  high  God  was 
possessor  of  heaven  and  earth.  Yes7  idolater  as 
he  was,  he  knew  full  well  that  a  tenth  of  every 
bestowment  of  Providence  was  to  be  consecrated 
to  the  powers  that  gave  it.  And  both  Melchizedek 
and  Abram  acknowledged  this  victory  and  these 
spoils  to  be  of  His  providence,  who  was  the  pos- 
sessor of  heaven  and  earth,  and  Abram  dare  not 
withhold  the  tenth  from  Him  and  be  guiltless. 
But  now  that  it  is  tithed,  Abram  may  use  his 
pleasure  as  to  its  return  or  use ;  but  until  this  is 
done  Abram  can  not  exercise  any  discretion  in 
the  premises,  for  "  the  tentli  is  the  Lord's." 

Although  these  cases  might  sufficiently  demon- 
strate the  pre-existence  of  the  law  recorded  by 
Moses,  ye4:  I  wish  to  state  and  briefly  examine 
another  case,  one  in  itself  full  of  thrilling  interest. 
It  is  recorded  in  the  28th  chapter  of  the  Book  of 
Genesis.  Jacob,  the  son  of  Isaac  and  Rebekah,  is 
restless  by  reason  of  his  fear  of  Esau,  his  brother, 
who  conceives  himself  wronged  by  Jacob  in  the 
matter  of  the  birthright.  His  mother  shares  those 
fears  with  him,  and  with  her  advice  and  his 
father's  blessing  he  takes  leave  of  the  home  of 
his  childhood  and  youth,  at  Beer-sheba,  and  goes 
toward  Haran.  As  the  day  was  closing,  the  sun 
having  set,  he  selected  a  place  to  rest,  and  taking 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  413 

some  stones  for  a  pillow  he  lay  down  to  sleep. 
How  changed  the  circumstances  of  the  young  man 
in  one  short  day  !  His  last  waking  thoughts  may 
have  been  of  Rebekah's  cheerful  tent,  now  left 
behind,  perhaps  forever,  of  wearisome  travel  yet 
before  him  until  it  should  bear  him  far  away 
among  strangers,  with  no  other  companion  but 
"  this  staff."  But  God  seized  on  this  propitious 
time  to  instruct  and  encourage  him,  and  in  the 
dreams  of  that  eventful  night  showed  him  a  ladder 
reaching  from  earth  to  heaven,  and  passing  angels 
thronged  the  way,  and  above  it  stood  the  Lord, 
who  said,  "  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  thy  father, 
and  of  Isaac,"  and  made  him  large  promises  of 
family  and  possessions,  and  repreached  to  him 
the  Gospel  as  he  had  preached  it  to  Abraham. 
And  Jacob  awaked  out  of  his  sleep  and  said, 
Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  in  his  fear  he 
said,  'tis  dreadful !  it  is  the  house  of  God  and  the 
gate  of  heaven.  He  rose  early  and  set  up  the 
stones  on  which  his  head  had  laid,  and  pouring 
oil  upon  them  called  the  place  Beth-el.  And 
Jacob  vowed  a  vow,  saying,  "  If  the  Lord  will  be 
with  me  and  will  keep  me  in  this  way  that  I  go, 
and  will  give  me  bread  to  eat  and  raiment  to  put 
on,  of  all  that  Thou  shalt  give  me  I  will  surely 
give  a  tenth  to  Thee." 

You  will  perceive  in  this  case,  again,  the  recog- 
nition of  the  great  principle  upon  which  the  law 


414  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

of  the  tithe  is  founded,  to-wit :  That  all  the  prop- 
erty we  possess  is  His  bounty,  and  He  is  acknowl- 
edged to  be  its  proprietor  in  the  observance  of 
this  law.  There  is  in  this  case  one  peculiarity  to 
which  I  call  your  attention.  Abram  gave  the 
tithes,  at  least  in  one  case,  to  the  priest  of  the 
most  high  God,  and  under  the  Mosaic  economy 
God  gave  the  tithes  to  the  sons  of  Levi.  But  in 
this  case  they  are  not  given  to  any  priest,  and  we 
are  taught  by  it  that  the  law  requiring  the  tenth 
to  be  devoted  to  God  is  entirely  independent  of 
the  direction  it  may  please  God  to  give  it.  The 
use  to  be  made  of  the  tithes  must  be  matter  of 
revelation.  Jacob  deferred  for  a  long  time  the 
fulfilment  of  his  vow,  but  at  length  he  repents, 
and,  being  himself  a  priest,  he  offers  them  upon 
the  altar. 

We  will  claim  your  attention  to  but  one  more 
branch  of  evidence  in  support  of  the  Divine  insti- 
stitution  of  tithes  anterior  to  Moses,  and  to  this 
but  briefly,  which  is  the  almost  universal  belief 
that  one-tenth  of  all  income  belongs  to  the  gods. 
"The  custom  of  giving  or  paying  tithe  is  very 
ancient." —  Chambers. 

Xenophon,  in  the  Fifth  Book  of  the  Expedition 
of  Cyrus,  gives  us  an  inscription  upon  a  column 
near  the  Temple  of  Diana,  whereby  the  people 
were  warned  to  offer  the  tenth  part  of  their  reve- 
nues every  year  to  that  goddess.  The  Romans 


LIFE     OF     OAPLES.  415 

offered  a  tenth  of  all  they  took  from  their  enemies 
to  the  gods.  The  Gauls  gave  a  tenth  to  their  god 
Mars,  as  we  learn  from  the  commentaries  of  Csesar. 
And  Festus  assures  us  that  the  ancients  gave  a 
tithe  of  every  thing  to  their  gods. 

We  make  these  quotations  from  Chambers' 
great  dictionary,  and  we  might  multiply  them  if 
necessary,  but  these  are  sufficient.  Authors  have 
been  strangely  perplexed  to  find  the  original  of  a 
custom  established  among  so  many  people  of  dif- 
ferent manners  and  religions — to  give  a  tenth  to 
their  kings,  their  gods,  or  their  ministers  of  relig- 
ion. Says  the  above  quoted  author:  "Grotius  takes 
it  to  arise  hence,  that  the  number  ten  is  the  most 
known  and  the  most  common  among  all  nations, 
by  reason  of  the  number  of  fingers,  which  is  ten." 
On  this  account  he  thinks  it  is  tfiat  the  commands 
of  God  were  reduced  to  ten  for  the  people  to  retain 
them  with  greater  ease,  that  the  philosophers 
established  ten  categories,  etc. 

This  attempt  at  answering  the  inquiry  we  think 
labored,  and  withal  very  far  from  being  satisfac- 
tory. Why  not  assume  that  the  number  two  was 
the  best  known,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  men 
walk  on  two  feet  and  have  two  hands ;  or  four,  be- 
cause so  large  a  proportion  of  animals  have  four 
legs;  or  five,  because  of  the  five  senses.  How 
much  more  rational  to  accept  the  reasoning  which 
so  well  satisfies  the  Christian  world  in  regard  to 


416  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

the  origin  of  animal  sacrifice,  that  it  was  revealed 
by  God  himself  to  our  first  progenitors,  and  thus 
spread  among  the  families  which  became  nations, 
and  although  corrupted,  long  retained  some  of  its 
original  features.  But  originate  as  it  may,  God, 
as  we  have  seen,  enjoined  it  as  a  law  upon  Israel. 
Now,  we  ask,  did  God  borrow  his  law  from  the 
vagaries  of  men,  or  did  men  receive  this  idea  from 
the  revelations  of  God  ?  The  answer  can  not,  with 
any  sane  mind,  be  dubious. 

We  conclude  this  lecture  with  this  remark,  that 
unless  we  have  entirely  mistaken  the  subject  be- 
fore us,  or  the  nature  of  evidence,  or  the  mental 
calibre  of  our  patient  audience,  the  minds  of  all  are 
satisfied  that  the  law  of  the  tithe  was  given  by  the 
Almighty  to  the  early  Patriarchs  as  involving  a 
great  moral  principle,  and  that  in  giving  this  law 
He  acted  "  not  as  the  God  of  the  Jew  only."  And 
the  establishment  of  this  fact  puts  it  beyond  cavil 
that,  unless  He  has  repealed  the  law,  it  is,  in  its 
original  purity,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  in 
full  force.  And  if  you  will  honor  us  with  another 
hearing  we  will  answer  some  objections  to  its  per- 
petuity, examine  it  in  the  light  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  show  its  bearing  upon  the  future  of  the 
Church  and  the  destiny  of  the  world. 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  417 

LECTURE    II. 

An  objection  has  "been  urged  to  our  view  of  the 
great  moral  principles  involved  in  the  law  of  the 
tithe  and  the  consequent  perpetuity  of  the  obliga- 
tion to  observe  it,  on  the  assumed  ground  that  it 
is  not  found  in  the  ten  commandments,  or  moral 
law.  To  give  any  force  to  this  objection  it  must 
be  assumed  that  the  entire  moral  law  is  expressed 
in  the  ten  words  or  commands,  but  this  assump- 
tion is  in  fact  false.  It  is  true  that  the  ten  com- 
mandments written  upon  the  tables  of  stone  are 
an  epitome  of  the  entire  moral  law  and  contain 
its  great  principles,  which  are  as  changeless  as 
the  Eternal  Law-giver.  Indeed,  upon  the  princi- 
ples of  the  two  first  hang  the  entire  law  and  the 
prophets.  And  is  not  this  statute  of  the  tithe 
covered  fully  by  the  first  article  of  this  great  moral 
constitution:  "lam  the  Lord  tliy  God."  "  Thou 
sJialt  have  none  oilier  gods  before  me."  "Thou 
shalt  not  make  thee  any  graven  image,  or  any 
likeness  of  any  thing  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or 
that  is  in  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  waters 
beneath  earth.  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself 
unto  them,  nor  serve  them,  for  I,  the  Lord  thy  God, 
am  a  jealous  God,  showing  mercy  unto  thousands 
of  them  that  love  me  and  keep  my  command- 
ments." 

Sin  is  well  defined  to  be  "  a  want  of  conformity 
27 


418  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

to,  or  a  violation  of,  law."  Did  not  the  Ephesians 
violate  this  command  when  they  gave  the  tithe  to 
Diana,  the  Romans  when  they  gave  it  to  their 
gods,  the  Gauls  when  they  bestowed  it  upon  Mars, 
and  all  the  ancients  (if  Festus  be  credited)  when 
they  gave  it  to  their  gods,  and  the  tribes  of 
Jacob  when  they  consumed  it  upon  their  lusts? 
For  although  they  regarded  not  an  idol,  yet  they 
"robbed  God  in  withholding  the  tithe."  And  why? 
Because  "  the  tithe  is  the  Lord's,  the  possessor  of 
heaven  and  earth"  Look  at  the  universal  custom 
of  the  heathen  world,  especially  of  old,  and  read 
the  command  again :  "  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God. 
Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  (or  beside) 
me."  And  in  fear  of  that  God,  who  is  the  pos- 
sessor of  heaven  and  earth,  who  hath  fed  you  all 
your  lifelong,  and  claims  to  be  your  God,  and  to 
whom  you  are  glad  to  say,  My  Lord,  and  my  God, 
tell  me  whether  the  devotees  of  the  mythological 
daughter  of  Jupiter,  and  Latona,  and  the  sister 
of  Apollo,  the  Gauls,  in  their  devotion  to  the  son 
of  Juno,  the  ancient  Chaldean  offering  his  tithe  to 
the  heavenly  luminaries,  the  Epicurean  denying 
allegiance  to  all  else,  hiding  it  in  the  treasury- 
house  of  his  appetites,  the  Jew,  who  robs  God,  and 
the  professed  Christian  who,  turning  from  the  law 
of  the  tithe,  cries,  My  property  is  my  own,  and  it 
is  lawful  for  me  to  do  with  it  as  1  will — are  not 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  419 

all  guilty  of  a  positive  violation  of  the  first  great 
command  of  the  ten? 

Another  objection  which  we  notice  is,  that  the 
tithes  of  the  children  of  Israel  were  offered  as 
sacrifices  and  were  to  be  eaten  in  Jerusalem,  etc., 
and  that  being  thus  ceremonial  they  can  not  be  per- 
petual. This  objection  is  certainly  more  specious 
than  formidable,  and  grows  out  of  the  supposition, 
doubtless,  that  there  was  but  one  tithe  enjoined 
upon  the  tribes.  But  beside  the  tithe  which  is 
the  Lord's  there  was  a  second  tithe,  which  was, 
says  Chambers,  a  tenth  part  of  the  nine  remain- 
ing after  payment  of  the  first  tithe.  This  tithe 
was  set  apart  in  each  family,  and  the  master  of 
the  family  was  obliged  to  carry  it  to  Jerusalem 
and  use  it  there  ;  or,  in  case  he  could  not,  he  was 
to  redeem  it  or  convert  it  into  money,  in  which 
case  he  was  to  add  a  fifth  part  to  it  and  carry  it  to 
Jerusalem.  A  third  tithe  was  a  tithe  of  the  first, 
to  be  given  by  the  Levites  to  the  priests  of  the 
house  of  Aaron.  The  fourth  was  the  tithe  of  the 
third  year;  not  much  different  from  the  second 
tithe,  except  that  it  was  less  troublesome,  because 
they  did  not  carry  it  to  Jerusalem,  either  in  kind 
or  in  money,  but  kept  it  by  them  for  the  Levite,  the 
strangers,  the  fatherless  and  the  widows  of  the 
place  (Deut.  xiv.  28,  29).  This  was  also  called  the 
tithe  of  the  poor,  and  the  third  tithe  and  these 
third  years  when  it  was  paid  were  called  the  tithe 


420  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8 

years.  Several  learned  Jews  and  Christians,  how- 
ever, conceived  that  this  was  not  a  distinct  tithe, 
but  the  same  as  the  second,  so  that,  as  Mr.  Mede 
apprehends,  what  was  meant  in  other  years  to 
be  spent  in  feasting  was  every  third  year  spent 
upon  the  poor. 

Dr.  Clarke  thinks  the  reason  why  God  required 
this  last  named  tithe  to  be  eaten  at  Jerusalem 
was  to  establish  uniformity  of  worship,  which, 
says  he,  was  very  important  in  those  idolatrous 
times ;  and  his  comment  exactly  corresponds  with 
the  opinions  I  have  gathered  from  Chambers. 
(See  C.  Com.  on  Deut.  xiv.  28,  29.) 

The  bare  statement  of  the  facts  as  above  ex- 
plodes the  objection.  Yes,  it  does  more,  for  it 
again  shows  the  tithe  of  all,  wMcli  is  the  Lord's, 
standing  out  in  bold  relief,  independently  of  all 
that  is  merely  ceremonial. 

The  next  argument  we  present  will  be  on  the  fol- 
lowing proposition,  namely :  That  the  Jews,  as  peo- 
ple, converted  to  Christ,  their  Savior,  will,  accord- 
ing to  their  own  prophesy  literally  observe  the  law 
of  the  tithe.  And  we  would  not  have  you  forget 
that  the  tithe  is  not  a  type  of  anything  whatever, 
but  an  acknowledgement  of  the  sovereignty  of 
God  and  the  recognition  of  present  existing  rela- 
tion to  His  providence  and  bounty ;  and  as  this 
relation  is  absolute  between  the  Creator  and  the 
creature,  so  no  covenant  God  has  ever  made  with 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  421 

man  ignores  this  law.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
great  truths  upon  which  this  law  is  based,  and  of 
which  it  is  the  exponent,  underly  every  covenant 
God  has  been  pleased  to  enter  into  with  man.  In 
view  of  these  facts,  and  a  Jew's  familiarity  with 
the  law  in  its  relation  to  them,  let  us  consider  a 
Jew  as  converted  to  the  true  Messiahship  of  Christ, 
and  under  the  light  of  the  truth  received  in  this 
conversion,  reading  the  20th  chapter  of  Ezekiel's 
prophesy,  in  which  he  traces  the  dealing  of  the 
God  of  Abraham  with  his  fathers ;  how  He  showed 
them  wonders  in  Egypt  and  mercies  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  how  they  rebelled  against  Him  and  pro- 
voked Him  to  anger;  how  He  scattered  them 
among  their  enemies,  and  at  their  repentant  cry 
He  brought  them  out  of  their  troubles ;  but  again 
and  again  they  rebel,  until  He  gives  them  up  to 
their  delusions  and  refuses  to  accept  their  offering 
or  acknowledge  their  sacrifices,  and  they  vainly 
say  we  will  be  like  the  nations  around  us.  But 
God  preserves  them  distinct  among  the  nations 
until  the  nations  among  whom  they  sojourn 
acknowledge  His  hand  upon  them — until  He  pleads 
with  them  as  he  plead  with  their  fathers.  "  And 
I  will  cause  you  to  pass  under  the  rod,  and  I  will 
bring  you  into  the  bond  of  the  covenant.  And  I 
will  purge  out  from  among  you  the  rebels,  and 
them  that  transgress  against  me ;  there  will  I 
accept  them  and  there  will  I  require  your  offerings 


422  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

and  the  first  fruits  of  your  oblations,  with  all  your 
holy  things."  He  understands  very  well  that 
passing  under  the  rod  they  acknowledge  that  they 
and  theirs  belong  to  God,  and  thus  God  brings 
them  into  the  covenant,  and  then  accepts,  yea,  re- 
quires, their  offering,  their  first  fruits,  with  all 
their  holy  things.  He  reads,  again,  Jeremiah,  33d 
chapter.  How  the  word  of  the  Lord  comes  to  his 
imprisoned  prophet,  filled  with  encouragement  to 
the  scattered  tribes  to  hope  in  the  covenant  of  God 
made  with  Abraham  their  father  and  David  their 
king,  declaring  that  so  long  as  the  covenant  with 
Noah  shall  stand  so  long  should  this  remain ;  that 
Jerusalem,  so  long  desolate  and  sad,  should  again 
rejoice  for  the  return  of  her  children,  and  the  voice 
of  the  shepherd  should  once  more  make  glad  the 
desolate  land  and  the  numerous  flocks  take  rest 
within  its  vales.  And  in  the  time  of  this  restora- 
tion the  Lord  is  to  be  acknowledged  in  the  uni- 
versal observance  of  the  law  of  the  tithe.  "  In  the 
cities  of  the  mountains,  in  the  cities  of  the  vale, 
and  in  the  cities  of  the  south,  and  in  the  land  of 
Benjamin,  and  in  the  places  about  Jerusalem,  and 
in  the  cities  of  Judah,  shall  the  flocks  pass  again 
under  the  hands  of  him  that  telleth  them,  saith 
the  Lord."  "Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  I  will  perform  that  good  thing  which  I 
have  promised  unto  the  house  of  Israel  and  to  the 
house  of  Judah."  But  when,  O,  when  shall  it  be  ? 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  423 

"In  the  days  of  the  righteous  brancli  that  I  will 
cause  to  grow  up  unto  David.  He  shall  execute 
j  udgment  and  righteousness  in  the  land.  In  those 
days  shall  Judah  be  saved  and  Jerusalem  shall 
dwell  safely,  and  this  is  the  name  wherewith  she 
shall  be  called  the  Lord  our  righteousness."  A 
Jew  would  not  (much  less  a  Christian)  deny  that 
this  prophesy  refers  to  the  glorious  days  of  the 
last  time  or  times  of  Messiah.  And  although,  as 
Mr.  Watson  says,  the  predictions  may  have  a 
permanent  fulfilment  in  the  return  from  Babylon, 
its  ultimate  and  glorious  accomplishment  must  be 
referred  to  the  times  of  the  Messiah.  This  granted, 
we  have  but  to  inquire,  what  shall  take  place  in 
these  times?  The  answer  is  given  in  the  13th 
verse.  In  the  cities  of  the  mountains,  of  the 
vales,  of  the  south,  in  the  land  of  Benjamin,  about 
Jerusalem,  and  the  cities  of  Judah,  shall  the  flocks 
pass  under  the  hands  of  him  that  telleth  them.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  we  determine  whether  Jeru- 
salem is  here  used  literally  or  for  the  Church  of 
God,  of  which  it  was  the  type — the  argument  is 
the  same.  We  only  have  to  inquire  what  is  meant 
by  passing  under  the  rod,  or  the  hands  of  him 
that  telleth  them.  We  find  this  same  form  of 
words  in  Lev.  xxvii.  32  :  "  And  concerning  the 
tithe  of  the  herd,  or  of  the  flock,  even  whatsoever 
passeth  under  the  rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy 
unto  the  Lord." 


424  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

Dr.  A.  Clarke  says  the  signification  of  this  verse 
is  well  given  by  the  Rabbis.  When  a  man  was 
to  give  the  tithe  of  his  sheep  or  calves  to  God,  he 
was  to  shut  up  the  whole  flock  in  one  fold,  in  which 
there  was  one  narrow  door  capable  of  letting  out 
one  at  a  time.  The  owner  about  to  give  a  tenth 
to  the  Lord  stood  by  the  door  with  a  rod  in  his 
hand,  the  end  of  which  was  dipped  in  vermilion  or 
red  ochre.  The  mothers  of  those  lambs  or  calves 
stood  without ;  the  door  being  opened,  the  young 
ones  ran  out  to  join  themselves  to  their  dams,  and 
as  they  passed  out  the  owner  stood  with  his  rod 
over  them  and  counted  one,  two,  three,  four,  five, 
&c.,  and  when  the  tenth  came  he  touched  it  with 
the  colored  rod,  by  which  it  was  distingushed  to 
be  the  tithe  sheep,  calf,  &c.  We  gather  first  from 
these  and  other  prophesies  of  similar  character 
that  they  will  be  accomplished  in  the  times  of 
Messiah ;  and  secondly,  that  in  their  fulfilment  the 
law  of  the  tithe  will  be  observed.  We  now  merely 
ask,  will  the  Jews  converted  to  Christ  form  a  part 
of  the  Christian  Church  under  the  New  Testament 
dispensation?  or  will  there  still  be  one  law  for 
Christian  Jew  and  another  for  Gentile  converts? 
No,  verily ;  "  there  shall  be  one  fold  and  one  shep- 
herd." For  there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there 
is  neither  circumcision  nor  uncircumcision,  but  ye 
are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus.  Will  any  one  under- 
take to  show  why  it  is  that  a  descendant  of  Abra- 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  425 

liam  after  the  flesh,  made  heir  of  the  promise  by 
faith,  is  required  to  honor  God  with  the  tenth  of 
all  his  revenue,  and  the  spiritual  seed,  made  heir 
of  the  same  promise  by  the  belief  of  the  Gospel, 
is  left  to  use  his  own  will  as  the  standard  to  de- 
termine what  he  gives,  or  whether  he  will  give  at 
all  or  not.  In  the  absence  of  a  positive  revelation 
from  God  to  this  effect  such  a  supposition  is  mon- 
strous presumption,  and  without  an  explicit  repeal 
of  the  law  in  the  New  Testament  we  can  not  avoid 
its  obligation.  To  the  New  Testament,  then,  for 
a  few  moments  at  least,  let  us  turn  and  see  if  there 
be  any  repeal.  But  first  let  us  ask,  can  there  in 
the  nature  of  things  be  a  repeal  of  this  law  unless 
there  be  first  a  change  of  the  relation  upon  which 
it  is  founded?  The  only  mention  Christ  makes 
of  tithe  is  a  recognition  of  the  law  and  a  com- 
mendation of  obedience  to  it,  even  in  the  smallest 
matters  (Luke  xi.  42) :  "  Ye  tithe  mint,  and  rue, 
and  all  manner  of  herbs  and  pass  over  judgment 
and  the  love  of  God :  these  ought  ye  to  have  done, 
and  not  to  leave  tlie  oilier  undone."  Christ  here 
says  that  the  tithing  of  mint  and  rue  and  all  man- 
ner of  herbs  ought  not  to  be  left  undone.  Is  this 
repeal  ?  (See,  also,  Matthew  xxiii.  23.)  If  so,  it  is 
couched  in  strange  language. 

The  Pharisee  made  a  boast  in  his  prayer:  "I 
give  tithes  of  all  that  I  possess."  Let  it  be  ob- 
served that  it  is  not  the  payment  of  tithes  that  is 


426  LIFE     OF     CAPLKS. 

held  up  by  the  Savior  as  improper,  no  more  than 
is  fasting,  or  freedom  from  extortion,  or  adultery, 
but  in  his  making  a  boast  before  God  instead  of 
feeling  and  confessing  as  did  David :  "  That  of 
thine  own  have  we  rendered  thee,  for  all  came  of 
thee."  This  rebuke  of  self-exaltation  is  the  far- 
thest removed  from  a  repeal  of  the  obligation  or 
denial  of  the  God  asserted  fact — "  the  tithe  is  the 
Lord's.*' 

It  will  hardly  be  pretended  that  the  obligation 
to  give  tithes  under  the  priesthood  of  Christ  is 
annulled  by  St.  Paul  in  his  powerful  argument  on 
the  superiority  of  his  priesthood  over  that  of  Levi 
by  reference  to  his  great  type  in  the  person  of  the 
King  of  Salem.  The  sacred  history  but  three 
times  opens  the  veil  and  gives  us  glimpses  of  this 
mysterious  character,  but  in  these  it  gives  the 
most  certain  information.  First,  he  is  shown  to 
us  blessing  the  patriarch  Abraham,  and  receiving 
at  his  hand  the  tithe ;  secondly,  David  tells  us 
that  the  priesthood  of  his  Lord  (our  Jesus)  was 
by  the  oath  of  God  forever  after  the  order  of  Mel- 
chizedek.  Upon  these  facts  St.  Paul  builds  his 
argument.  The  priesthood  of  Christ  being  by  the 
oath  of  God  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek  and 
not  after  the  order  of  Aaron,  consider  the  great- 
ness of  this  man  (the  type)  to  whom  even  the 
patriarch  Abraham  gave  the  tenth;  and  verily 
they  that  are  of  the  sons  of  Levi,  who  receive  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  427 

office  of  the  priesthood,  have  a  commandment  to 
take  tithes  of,  the  people  according  to  the  law, 
that  is  of  their  brethren,  though  they  be  the  chil- 
dren of  Abraham.  But  he  whose  descent  is  not 
counted  from  them  received  tithes  of  Abraham 
and  blessed  him  that  had  the  promises.  And 
without  all  contradiction  the  less  is  blessed  of  the 
better.  And  here  were  men  that  did  receive  tithes, 
but  then  he  receiveth  them  of  whom  it  is  witnessed 
that  he  liveth.  And,  as  I  may  so  say,  Levi,  also, 
who  receiveth  the  tithes  (having  had  a  command 
to  do  so)  paid  tithes  in  Abraham.  If,  therefore, 
this  priesthood  given  to  Levi  was  perfect,  what 
need  of  another  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek  ? 
But  this  change  of  the  priesthood  from  the  im- 
perfect one  given  to  Aaron  to  that  which  abideth 
forever,  the  first  being  annulled,  there  is  a  disan- 
nulling of  the  commandment  also.  So  that  the 
sons  of  Levi,  by  reason  of  their  call  to  minister 
at  the  altar,  which  now  ceases,  have  no  longer  a 
commandment  to  receive  tithes,  for  as  their  priest- 
hood is  changed  so  there  must  be  a  change  also 
of  the  law  or  commandment.  But  the  law  of  the 
tithe  is  not  thereby  disannulled.  Indeed,  we  gather 
from  St.  Paul's  reasoning  that  it  is  entirely  inde- 
pendent, not  only  in  its  origin,  but  also  in  its  obli- 
gation, of  the  Levitical  or  Aaronic  priesthood. 
And  now  that  the  priesthood  of  Aaron  has  merged 
into  the  perfect  and  perpetual  priesthood  of  Christ, 


428  LIFE     OF     OAPLES. 

and  as  tithes  were  required  under  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Gospel  in  the  days  of  the  Patriarchs,  and 
as  they  were  received  by  that  illustrious  type  of 
Christ,  Melchizedek,  even  from  him  to  whom  God 
preached  the  Gospel  and  to  whom  he  gave  the 
promises,  how  is  it  that  we  have  come  to  conceive 
that  they  are  no  longer  required  of  us,  who  draw 
nigh  to  God  through  this  perfect  and  ever  abiding 
priesthood,  our  highest  claim  being  that  we  are 
Abraham's  spiritual  seed  and  blessed  with  him 
that  was  faithful,  in  that  we  are  partakers  of  the 
promises?  Once  more  we  beg  leave  to  remind 
our  audience  that  God's  claim  on  our  property  of 
a  tenth  stands  (as  we  have  already  shown  in  sev- 
eral instances)  entirely  independent  of  every  in- 
quiry as  to  what  God  may  be  pleased  to  do  with 
it,  and  the  direction  to  be  given  to  it  must  be 
matter  of  revelation.  This  fact  kept  before  us,  of 
itself  explodes  the  idea  entertained  by  some  that 
the  tribe  of  Levi,  by  God's  command,  cut  off  in  a 
large  degree  from  the  possession  of  the  lands  among 
their  brethren  and  from  secular  pursuits ;  that  the 
law  was  a  necessary  provision  for  their  main- 
tenance, but  that  this  necessity  passed  away  with 
the  priesthood  of  Aaron,  and  that  hence  the  obli- 
gation to  observe  the  law  has  expired.  In  this 
objection  or  statement  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
plausibility,  especially  to  those  who  have  thought 
but  little  upon  the  subject ;  but  to  the  close  thinker 


LIFE    OF    CAPLES.  429 

it  will  be  sufficiently  apparent  that  there  is  not 
one  particle  of  truth  in  it.  First,  it  wholly  ignores 
the  fact  of  the  pre-existence  of  the  obligation ;  and, 
secondly,  the  great  principle  upon  which  it  rests. 
Its  fallacy  will  be  further  apparent  as  we  proceed. 
Let  us  hear  once  more  the  voice  of  the  Lord  on 
this  subject:  "And  all  the  tithe  of  land,  whether 
of  seed  of  the  land  or  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  is 
the  Lord's."  "And  concerning  the  tithe  of  the 
herd  or  of  the  flock,  even  of  whatsoever  passeth 
under  the  rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the 
Lord."  Lev.  xxvii.  30-82.  "  And  the  Lord  spake 
unto  Aaron,  Thou  shalt  have  no  inheritance, 
neither  shalt  thou  have  any  part  among  them ;  I 
am  thy  part  and  thy  inheritance  among  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel.  And,  behold,  I  have  given  the 
children  of  Levi  all  the  tenth  in  Israel  for  an  in- 
heritance for  their  service  which  they  served,  even 
the  service  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  congregation." 
You  can  not  fail  to  observe  how  perfectly  distinct 
God's  claim  is  from  the  appropriation  which  He 
here  makes  of  it.  He  unquestionably  calls  Levi's 
family  away  from  land  and  secular  employments. 
This  is  His  right,  for  all  are  His ;  but  He  as  un- 
questionably gives  them  His  tenth  as  the  chief 
item  for  their  support ;  and  mark,  He  says  it  is  for 
their  service  which  they  serve.  But  in  view  of 
the  last  stated  objection  I  wish  to  inquire,  Has  the 
antitype  of  Melclmedek  no  ministers?  Did  he 


430  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

not  as  emphatically  call  men  to  minister  for  him 
as  God  called  Aaron?  And  does  not  Paul  say  no 
man  taketh  this  honor  to  himself  but  he  that  is 
called  of  God,  as  was  Aaron?  Is  not  the  call 
equally  imperative,  "  Follow  me  f  "  Does  it  not 
as  positively  separate  from  secular  employments  ? 
"  Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead."  "  Go,  sell  all 
that  thou  hast  and  give  to  the  poor  and  come  fol- 
low me."  "  Lo,  we  have  left  all."  "  No  man  that 
warreth  entangleth  himself  with  the  affairs  of  this 
life."  Is  not  the  labor  as  onerous  and  the  field  as 
large  and  the  charge  to  duty  as  stern  ?  "  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature."  Does  he  leave  them  to  look  after  their 
own  support  ?  "  Who  goeth  a  warfare  at  any 
time  at  his  own  charges?"  Does  He  feed  and 
clothe  them  by  miracles  from  heaven  ?  "  Take 
neither  purse  nor  scrip  for  your  journey — neither 
two  coats."  "  The  workman  is  worthy  of  his  meat 
and  the  laborer  of  his  hire"  Read  I  Cor.  ix.  13 : 
"Do  ye  not  know  that  they  which  minister  about 
holy  things  live  of  the  things  of  the  temple,  and 
they  that  wait  at  the  altar  are  partakers  with  the 
altar  ?  Even  so  hath  the  Lord  ordained  that  they 
which  preach  the  Gospel  shall  lice  of  the  Gospel." 
Verse  8 :  "  Say  I  these  things  as  a  man,  or  saith 
not  the  law  the  same  also?"  "  If  we  have  sown 
unto  you  spiritual  things,  is  it  a  great  thing  if  we 
shall  reap  your  carnal  things?"  Will  any  one 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  431 

undertake  to  show  me  the  law  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment that  the  apostle  refers  to  ?  ]STo,  the  apostle 
looks  right  to  the  provisions  that  by  command 
Levi  received  while  he  ministered  for  God,  and 
with  the  abolishing  of  this  ministry  the  embassa- 
dors  of  Christ  became  the  ministers  of  God,  and 
Jesus  tells  them  the  workman  is  worthy  of  Ms 
meat  and  the  laborer  of  Ms  Jure,  and  the  command- 
ment or  law  on  this  subject,  as  we  have  seen  in 
our  examination  of  Paul's  argument  on  the  priest- 
hood of  Aaron  and  Christ,  is  changed  of  necessity 
with  the  priesthood.  God  gave  them  His  tithe 
for  their  service  which  they  served,  and  does  not 
Christ  teach  His  disciples  to  look  directly  to  God 
for.  their  support,  having  thus  ordained  that  they 
that  preach  the  Gospel  sliall  live  of  the  Gospel  ? 
Let  me  inquire  what  you  would  think  of  a  govern- 
ment that  would  make,  by  just  and  positive  reve- 
nue laws  for  a  term  of  years,  ample  provision  for 
the  support  of  its  soldiery  while  it  was  acting  on 
the  defensive ;  but  when  the  plan  of  the  cam- 
paign required  that  the  army  should  take  a  more 
active  position  should  issue  its  imperative  orders 
to  enter  the  enemy's  country,  and  then  pass  a  law 
or  ordinance  that  the  army  should  still  live  out 
of  the  treasury,  but  at  the  same  time  abolish  the 
revenue  laws  and  leave  it  discretionary  with  the 
subjects  of  the  government  how  much — if  any- 
thing— they  would  give  to  meet  its  expenses  ?  Our 


432  LIFE     OF     CAPLE8. 

own  General  Government  menaced  the  country 
some  years  ago  with  something  like  this,  when  in 
party  strife  they  refused  for  a  time  to  pass  the 
army  appropriation  bill.  We  with  united  voice 
would  condemn  it  as  most  cruel,  oppressive  and 
silly.  But  have  we  not,  in  setting  up  our  own  wills 
as  the  standard  by  which  we  will  be  governed 
in  our  contributions  to  the  Lord's  treasury  and 
ignored  the  obligation  to  give  the  tenth  to  the 
Lord,  charged  Him,  practically  at  least,  with  this 
species  of  legislation?  If,  indeed,  we  have  thus 
charged  God  foolishly,  may  we  not  say,  "  I  wot, 
brethren,  that  ye  did  it  ignorantly,  as  did  also 
your  rulers."  But  say  you  the  law  of  the  tithe 
must,  to  a  great  extent,  remain  a  dead  letter  un- 
less you  wed  Church  and  State  and  enforce  its 
claims  by  the  arm  of  civil  law  ?  I  answer,  there 
would  be  just  as  much  propriety  in  invoking  the 
civil  power  to  make  men  pray,  go  to  church,  or 
perform  any  other  act  of  obedience  to  God's  re-w 
quirements,  and  just  as  much  scriptural  authority 
for  it,  too.  Herein  is  the  manifest  folly  of  all  the 
tithings  and  systems  of  tithing  known  at  the 
present  day  in  all  Christian  countries  where  they 
are  thus  enforced ;  and  being  thus  enforced  and 
otherwise  abused  the  grounds  of  obligation  to  it 
are  obscured  and  the  moral  results  are  entirely 
destroyed  And  hence  many  good  men  have  cried 
out  against  them  as  evil.  The  history  of  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  433 

legislation  of  Christian  nations  on  this  subject 
would  form  an  interesting  theme  for  a  lecture, 
and  might  be  profitable  in  showing  therein  the 
cause  of  the  evils  now  existing  in  the  Church,  in 
various  respects,  throughout  the  Christian  world ; 
and  although  it  does  not  enter  into  the  design  of 
this  lecCure  to  review  such  legislation,  our  position 
being  that  all  civil  intermeddling  with  it  is  un- 
scriptural,  subversive  and  consequently  ruinous, 
yet  we  may  suggest  a  point  or  two  that  may  lead 
to  further  inquiry.  Modern  authors  are  much 
divided  in  opinion  as  to  the  time  of  their  first 
being  observed  in  the  Christian  Church,  and  no 
one  has  ever  been  able  to  show  their  first  intro- 
duction. Some  good  men,  impressed  with  the 
evils  already  noticed,  are  fond  to  believe  that 
they  were  comparatively  of  modern  origin  and  a 
departure  from  the  apostolic  constitution  ;  but  the 
belief  that  the  obligation  continues  under  the 
Gospel,  is  of  great  antiquity,  can  not  be  denied. 
Chambers  says :  Origen,  Horn,  llth  on  Numbers, 
thinks  that  the  law  of  Moses  touching  the  first 
fruits  and  tithes,  both  of  cattle  and  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  are  not  abrogated  by  the  Gospel,  but  ought 
to .  be  observed  on  their  ancient  footing.  In  the 
second  Council  of  Matiscona,  held  in  585,  it  is  said 
expressly  that  the  Christians  had  a  long  time  kept 
inviolate  that  law  of  God  whereby  tithe  of  all  their 

fruits  was  enjoined,  etc. — Ibid.    The  fifth  canon 

28 


434  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

orders  tithes  to  be  paid  to  the  ministers  of  the 
Church  according  to  the  law  of  God  and  the  im- 
memorial customs  of  the  Christians,  etc.  At  a 
provincial  synod  at  Cullen,  in  356,  tithes  are  voted 
to  be  God's  rent.  Judge  Blackstone  says  that 
possibly  tithes  in  this  country  (England)  were 
contemporary  with  the  planting  of  Christianity 
among  the  Saxons,  by  Augustin,  the  monk,  about 
the  end  of  the  sixth  century ;  but  the  first  men- 
tipn  of  them  that  he  has  met  with  in  any  written 
English  law  is  in  a  constitutional  decree  made  in 
a  synod  held  A.  D.  786,  wherein  the  payment  of 
tithes  in  general  is  strongly  enjoined. 

With  these  authorities  before  us,  it  devolves 
upon  those  denying  the  continuance  of  the  obli- 
gation to  show  that  their  observance  is  an  innova- 
tion in  the  Christian  Church  ;  but  if  this  can  not 
be  done,  then  it  follows  that  the  Church  (as  asserted 
by  the  Council  of  Matiscona)  has  always  acknowl- 
edged it,  and  that  its  neglect  is  a  departure  from 
the  practice  of  the  primitive  Christians.  This 
same  course  of  argumentation  is  considered  in- 
controvertible in  regard  to  other  practices  (to  in- 
stance the  baptism  of  infants) ;  why  not  equally 
so  here?  Unless  the  premises  are  successfully 
attacked  the  apostolicity  of  the  practice  is  fairly 
presumed.  That  there  is  some  obscurity  about 
its  practice  in  the  primitive  Church  is  not  strange. 
In  this  it  is  only  like  every  other,  practice  of  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  435 

We  know  but  little  of  the  history  of  the 
Church,  comparatively,  until  she,  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  becomes  entangled  in  civil  alliances. 
The  Gospel  gained  its  first  victories  mainly  among 
the  poor,  and  these  were  made  to  pa?s  for  ages, 

with    but   little    rest,   through   confiscation    and 

•» 

bloody  persecutions,  so  that  it  is  not  strange  that 
but  little  of  her  detailed  history  has  come  down 
to  us.  The  alliance  of  the  Church  with  the  civil 
powers  of  the  earth  was,  doubtless,  the  fruitful 
source  of  her  rapid  corruption.  Not  only  is  the 
collecting  of  tithes  by  the  civil  power  contrary  to 
the  Scripture,  but  the  claiming  of  the  tithes  of  any 
given  district  or  parish,  by  the  ministers  that  may 
minister  to  the  people  of  the  same  district,  is  alto- 
gether wanting  in  scriptural  authority  and,  more- 
over, repulsive  to  its  teachings. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  just  here  to  show  that  those 
Churches  or  bodies  of  Christians  called  Protestant, 
and,  still  more  specific,  called  dissenting  by  those 
who  still  cleave  to  their  carnal  alliance  with  civil 
powers,  have  not  only  thrown  off  the  unjust  exer- 
cise of  civil  law  in  the  collection  of  tithes,  and, 
consequently,  of  the  unrighteous  monopoly  of  the 
tithes  of  a  given  district  by  the  minister  of  that 
district,  but  they  have  sufficiently  tested  the  in- 
efficiency of  having  no  definite  rule  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  have  found,  I  am  sure,  trouble  enough 
and  sorrow  enough  to  lead  them  to  inquire,  can- 


436  LIFE     OF     CAPLES. 

didly  and  earnestly,  for  the  mind  of  the  Lord  in 
regard  to  it.  A  brief  glance  at  those  troubles  may 
not  be  amiss  just  here.  And,  first,  it  is  complained 
that  in  a  very  large  number  of  instances,  amount- 
ing perhaps  to  nine  out  of  ten,  the  increase  of 
riches,  with  individual  Christians  and  with  con- 
gregations, is  attended  with  decline  in  vital  piety 
and  the  sweet  simplicity  of  Christian  character, 
and  the  few  that  escape  these  dreadful  results  do 
so  by  a  degree  of  liberality  that  to  others  is  truly 
astonishing.  Extravagance  in  dress  and  personal 
ornaments,  in  furniture,  equipage  and  style  of 
living  is  growing  to  an  extent  that  alarms  both 
the  divine  and  civilian ;  and  what  is  it  all  but  a 
practical  declaration  of  independence  in  the  pos- 
session and  use  of  property.  And  who  is  clear 
in  this  matter  ?  /,  says  the  preacher,  and  /,  ex- 
claims the  editor.  Aye,  we  have  preached,  and 
written,  and  published,  against  all  this  with 
marked  ability  and  wondrous  strength.  But  let 
me  ask,  of  all  you  have  preached  or  published, 
what  definite  idea,  have  you  given  your  people  on 
this  subject?  And  if.  perchance,  you  have  half 
startled  some  soul  with  the  inquiry,  "  Will  a  man 
rob  God  ? "  and  they  have  inquired  wherein,  ytfu 
have  perhaps  told  them  of  prayer,  and  Church, 
and  sacrament  neglected,  and  that  they  ought  to 
give  something  to  Hie  poor,  arid  have  left  them 
with  only  vague  conceptions  instead  of  the  deli- 


LIFE     OP     CAPLES.         .  437 

niteness  of  God's  truth — "  The  tenth  is  the  Lord's" 
"  Ye  have  robbed  God  in  titJies  "  How  generally 
do  we  hear  this  complaint  from  the  most  ex- 
emplary members  of  the  Church :  Our  congrega- 
tion is  abundantly  able  to  support  our  minister 
without  any  one  being  at  all  oppressed,  but  so 
few  of  our  members  help  that  the  few  upon  which 
the  burden  falls  feel  it  very  sensibly.  Now,  why 
is  it  that  so  many  in  the  Church  are  content  to 
let  others  bear  this  burden  for  them  ?  Well,  in 
the  first  place,  what  they  hear  on  the  subject  is 
usually  a  misapplication  of  the  Scriptures.  The 
duty  is  generally  presented  as  one  we  owe  to  the 
preacher,  hence  the  partiality  we  have  for  the  man 
has  much  to  do  with  our  liberality  in  his  support. 
If  the  Bible  be  called  up  to  support  the  appeal, 
ten  to  one  if  some  text  in  reference  to  alms-giving 
or  free-will  offerings  is  not  quoted  and  the  law  of 
the  Lord  is  not  invoked  to  give  light  to  the  mind 
and  authority  to  the  appeal.  These  people  have 
a  Christian  conscience  on  other  subjects,  such  as 
prayer,  attention  to  the  means  of  grace  and. the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath ;  but  "  where  there  is  no 
law  there  is  no  transgression,"  and  they  have  not 
been  taught  the  law  on  this  subject  and  they  have 
no  conscience  toward  God  in  this  whole  matter. 
Once  more,  it  is  complained  of  as  a  humiliating 
fact  that  there  is  no  just  proportion  between  the 
effort  made  to  collect  funds  for  the  support  of 


438  LIF^J     OF     CAPLES. 

missions  and  the  results  realized.  We  have  but 
to  glance  at  the  subject  to  feel  this.  The  theme 
of  the  solicitor  of  funds  for  a  Gospel  mission  sur- 
passes every  other  that  has  ever  stirred  an  audi- 
ence from  a  platform.  The  most  exalted  subject 
ever  discussed  in  the  Roman  forum  in  comparison 
with  this  was  the  merest  trifle.  The  finest  class 
of  talents  God  has  ever  given  to  the  Church  have 
tested  their  utmost  power  here,  and  the  eloquence 
of  the  missionary  platform  for  the  last  twenty-five 
years  beggars  the  brightest  displays  of  ancient  or 
modern  senates.  And  with  what  results?  We 
would  be  the  last  to  despise  the  day  of  small 
things,  but  when  we  look  at  the  results  we  are 
almost  ready  to  inquire,  was  Christ  in  earnest 
when  He  said,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature."  Yes,  verily, 
in  earnest ;  for  this  He  groaned  in  earnest  in  the 
garden,  for  this  He  founded  the  command  upon 
the  fact,  "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  earth,  go  ye,  therefore."  Yes,  verily,  for  this 
His  providence  has  worked  in  earnest,  opening  in 
the  wake  of  His  Gospel  chariot  the  channels  of 
commerce  and  trade,  pouring  His  treasure  x>f 
wealth  and  power  into  the  laps  of  those  that  em- 
brace Him,  and  ever  beckoning  them  to  the  fields 
beyond  them ;  and  this,  too,  by  the  measure  of  a 
definite  will — a  will  the  power  of  which  we  have 
broken,  and  in  vain  do  we  attempt  to  compass  the 


LIFE     OF     CAPLES.  489 

field  by  another  of  our  own  make.  We  have  en- 
snared ourselves  in  perverting  the  blessing  of  God. 
Wealth  to  us  is  unsanctified — it  has  not  passed 
under  the  hand  of  Him  that  telleth  it.  We  wor- 
ship the  creature  more  than  the  Creator.  We 
have  robbed  God,  and  our  wealth  is  unclean.  As 
well  might  we  expect  joy  and  peace  on  the  earn- 
ing of  the  Sabbath  as  on  our  untithed  substance. 
Let  the  Church  arise  and  cause  to  pass  under  the 
rod  all  their  possessions  and  God  will  bring  them 
into  the  bonds  of  the  covenant.  Then  shall  be 
written  on  the  bells  of  the  horses  and  every  pot 
in  Jerusalem  and  Judea,  Holiness  unto  tJie  Lord. 
But  says  one,  the  treasury  of  the  Lord  would  over- 
flow, and  there  would  not  be  preachers  enough. 
Ah !  if  this  were  so,  one  prayer  to  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  for  more  laborers  would  bring  them  into 
the  field  as  they  never  came  before.  With  what 
propriety  can  a  Church  that  has  robbed  God  until 
the  treasury  is  empty  pray  Him  to  send  more  la- 
borers into  the  field  ?  I  have  actually  known  in 
our  own  beloved  Church  resolutions  passed  call- 
ing upon  the  whole  Church  to  fast,  and  pray  the 
Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  more  laborers  into  the 
harvest,  and  this  was  timely,  for,  perhaps,  the 
ranks  of  the  ministry  was  that  day  thinned  by 
the  retirement  of  six  of  the  best  laborers,  com- 
pelled to  this  by  long  fasting.  And  yet  how  slow 
to  see  our  folly.  But  says  another,  what  would 


440  LIFE    OF    CAPLES. 

become  of  other  parts  of  the  Church's  labor?  We 
answer,  when  this  law  is  observed  they  will  be 
sustained.  A  people  that  will  not  keep  the  first 
commandment  will  not  be  likely  to  keep  the  sec- 
ond. But  cries  a  third,  such  a  policy  would  beg- 
gar the  Church.  Let  Him  respond  who  is  the 
possessor  of  heaven  and  earth.  "  Bring  all 
the  tithes  into  the  storehouse,  that  there  may 
be  meat  in  my  house,  and  prove  me  now  here- 
with, saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open 
the  windows  of  heaven  and  pour  you  out  a  bless- 
ing that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive 
it.  And  I  will  rebuke  the  devour ~er  for  your  saTces, 
and  he  shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  ground, 
neither  shall  your  vine  cast  her  fruit  before  the 
time  in  the  fi,eld,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  And 
all  nations  shall  call  you  blessed,  for  ye  shall 
be  a  delightsome  land,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
Mai.  iii.  10, 11, 12. 


THE  END. 


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